Meanings
plural celibacies · alternative cælibacy
- countableuncountableAbstaining from marriage; the state of being unmarried.
I could document this defense of celibacy. Unmarried women show up very well in all the tests of mental health.
1970, The Futurist, page 421 more example
They came to believe that men, who would live a godly life, must view marriage as a sin and choose a life of celibacy.
1920, American Lutheran Survey, volumes 13-14, page 16 - broadlycountableuncountableAbstinence from sexual relations.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounabstaining from sexual relations (as because of religious vows)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latincaelibātus“celibacy, a single life”
- Englishcelibacy
From Latin caelibātus (“celibacy, a single life”), from caelebs (“unmarried”). By surface analysis, celib(ate) + -acy.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic عُنُوسَة
- عُنُوسَة (ʕunūsa)state of being unmarried
Bulgarian безбра́чие, ергенство
- безбра́чие (bezbráčie)state of being unmarried
- ергенство (ergenstvo)state of being unmarried
- сексуа́лно въздържа́ние (seksuálno văzdăržánie)abstaining from sexual relations
Catalan celibat
- celibatstate of being unmarried
Chinese Mandarin 獨身 /独身
- 獨身 /独身 (dúshēn)state of being unmarried
Czech svobodný stav, celibát
- svobodný stavstate of being unmarried
- celibátstate of being unmarried
- bezženstvístate of being unmarried
- celibátabstaining from sexual relations
Danish cølibat, cølibat
- cølibatstate of being unmarried
- cølibatabstaining from sexual relations
Finnish selibaatti, selibaatti
- selibaattistate of being unmarried
- selibaattiabstaining from sexual relations
French célibat, célibat
- célibatstate of being unmarried
- célibatabstaining from sexual relations
German Zölibat, Zölibat
- Zölibatstate of being unmarried
- Zölibatabstaining from sexual relations
- Keuschheitabstaining from sexual relations
Greek αγαμία, αγαμία
- αγαμία (agamía)state of being unmarried
- αγαμία (agamía)abstaining from sexual relations
Hebrew פרישות
- פרישות (prīshūth)state of being unmarried
Hungarian cölibátus, cölibátus
- cölibátusstate of being unmarried
- cölibátusabstaining from sexual relations
Irish aontumha
- aontumhastate of being unmarried
Italian celibato
- celibatostate of being unmarried
Japanese 独身, 独身
- 独身 (dokushin)state of being unmarried
- 独身 (dokushin)abstaining from sexual relations
Korean 독신
- 독신 (doksin)state of being unmarried
Māori takakautanga
- takakautangaabstaining from sexual relations
Norwegian sølibat, sølibat
- sølibatstate of being unmarried
- sølibatabstaining from sexual relations
Polish celibat, celibat
- celibatstate of being unmarried
- celibatabstaining from sexual relations
Portuguese celibato, celibato
- celibatostate of being unmarried
- celibatoabstaining from sexual relations
Romanian celibat
- celibatstate of being unmarried
Russian безбра́чие, целиба́т
- безбра́чие (bezbráčije)state of being unmarried
- целиба́т (celibát)state of being unmarried
- воздержа́ние (vozderžánije)abstaining from sexual relations
- сексуа́льное воздержа́ние (sɛksuálʹnoje vozderžánije)abstaining from sexual relations
Scottish Gaelic aontamhachd, aontamhachd
- aontamhachdstate of being unmarried
- aontamhachdabstaining from sexual relations
Slovak celibát
- celibátstate of being unmarried
Spanish celibato, celibato
- celibatostate of being unmarried
- celibatoabstaining from sexual relations
Swahili useja
- usejastate of being unmarried
Swedish celibat, celibat
- celibatstate of being unmarried
- celibatabstaining from sexual relations
Thai การอยู่เป็นโสด
- การอยู่เป็นโสดstate of being unmarried
Turkish bekârlık, bekârlık
- bekârlıkstate of being unmarried
- bekârlıkabstaining from sexual relations
Ukrainian безшлю́бність, целіба́т
- безшлю́бність (bezšljúbnistʹ)state of being unmarried
- целіба́т (celibát)state of being unmarried
Cite this entry
celibacy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/celibacy
“celibacy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/celibacy. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “celibacy,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/celibacy.
Source: celibacy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.