celibate

1 of 2

adjective

cel·​i·​bate ˈse-lə-bət 

: of, relating to, or characterized by celibacy:

a

: not engaging in or characterized by sexual intercourse

leading a celibate life

Because he regarded sex outside marriage as sinful, he remained celibate all his life.

—Faith McNulty

He pursued her avidly, writing her as many as three letters a day and even offering a celibate marriage to appease her fear of sex.

—Ruth Franklin

I'd been celibate for so long, what was another year without sex?

—Sue Grafton

b

: abstaining from marriage and sex especially because of a religious vow

Father Hawkins, for one, believes the priesthood would benefit from a broader mix of married and celibate priests.

—Daniel McGinn

I have met a few celibate monks in whom celibacy is truly a gift, a charism from which all—married or not—can learn …

—John Garvey

The Shakers, a celibate religious community, stress pacifism, equality and the communal ownership of material goods.

—Lyn Riddle

celibate

2 of 2

noun

plural celibates

: a person who lives in celibacy : a celibate person:

a

: an unmarried person

especially : one who abstains from marriage because of a religious vow

priestly celibates

b

: a person who abstains from sexual intercourse

… described himself as "a reluctant celibate" who had not been with a woman for four years …

—Janice Kennedy

Examples of celibate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

In an interview on the Sept. 4 episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the 49-year-old rap mogul — who's reportedly nearing billionaire status — opened up about his choice to lead a celibate lifestyle and why he's never been married. —Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 5 Sep. 2024

Julia Fox, Lenny Kravitz and Khloé Kardashian have all come out as celibate in the last three months. —Anne Branigin, Washington Post, 21 July 2024

Noun

An all-male celibate hierarchy is making the rules, and there’s this chasm between what Catholics believe in practice and what the church is teaching. —Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024

As a celibate ascetic, Ayyappan should be spared the tempting presence of fertile women—that is, women between menarche and menopause. —Deepa Das Acevedo, Foreign Affairs, 4 Apr. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Latin caeleb-, caelebs "not having a spouse, unmarried" (perhaps a derivative from *kail-i- "whole," going back to Indo-European *keh₂i-lo-) + -ate entry 3 — more at whole entry 1

Note: The traditional hypothesis that caelebs goes back to a compound *kai̯elo-libh- (with the first element compared to Sanskrit kevala- "exclusively oneʼs own, alone, whole" and the second to Gothic liban "to live," English live entry 1) is now considered dubious.

Noun

derivative of celibate entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

1724, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1769, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

celibate

noun

cel·​i·​bate ˈsel-ə-bət 

: one who lives in celibacy

celibate adjective