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celibate definition

celi·bate (sel′ə bət)

noun

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

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

adjective

of or in a state of celibacy

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

celibate Synonyms

celibate

modif.

continent, virginal, unmarried, abstinent; see chaste 3, single 3.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

celibate Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • remain: The Church will however insist that all of its own clergy remain celibate once in a civil partnership.

Preposition: for

  • year: He has now ditched the lifestyle traditionally adopted by someone in their 20s, and will have remained celibate for seven years next month.

Modifies a noun

  • priesthood: In any case, in the Western world, this celibate male priesthood is at present dying out through a lack of recruits.
celibate usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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"celibate." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/celibate>

APA Style

celibate. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/celibate

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