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celibate

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The definition of celibate is refraining from sexual relations, usually for religious reasons.

(adjective)

A priest is an example of someone who is celibate.

See celibate in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

an unmarried person, esp. one under a vow to remain unmarried
one who abstains from sexual intercourse

Origin: L caelibatus < caelebs, unmarried (< IE base *kaiwelo-, alone) + *lib(h)s-, living (> live)

adjective

of or in a state of celibacy

See celibate in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

One who abstains from sexual intercourse, especially by reason of religious vows.
One who is unmarried.

adjective

Abstaining from sexual intercourse, especially by reason of religious vows.
Unmarried; unwed.

Origin:

Origin: Latin caelibātus

Origin: , from caelebs, caelib-, unmarried

Usage Note: Historically, celibate means only “unmarried”; its use to mean “abstaining from sexual intercourse” is a 20th-century development. But the new sense of the word seems to have displaced the old, and the use of celibate to mean “unmarried” is now almost sure to invite misinterpretation in other than narrowly ecclesiastical contexts. Sixty-eight percent of the Usage Panel rejected the older use in the sentence He remained celibate [unmarried], although he engaged in sexual intercourse.

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