The celibate meaning comes down to one idea: a celibate person does not have sex, usually because they have decided not to. In older and religious use, the word also means staying unmarried for life.
You will see it used about monks, nuns and priests, but also about ordinary people who take a break from dating or sex for personal reasons. This page covers both uses, how the word behaves in a sentence, and the words people often confuse with it.
Entry at a glance
Meaning
Not having sex, usually by choice; in older use, staying unmarriedPart of speech
Adjective (a celibate monk) and noun (a celibate)Pronunciation
SEL-uh-bitWord forms
celibacy (noun), celibates (plural noun)Origin
From Latin caelebs, unmarried, through caelibatus, the unmarried stateClose words
chaste, abstinentRegister
Neutral; common in religion, health and personal writing
Celibate meaning, sense by sense
Two senses matter when you define celibate:
- Not having sexual relationships. This is the most common modern sense. A person may be celibate for a month, a year or their whole life.
- Not marrying, often because of a religious promise. This is the older sense, and it is still the main one when people talk about clergy.
The key idea is choice. Someone who simply has not found a partner is not usually called celibate. The word suggests a decision, a vow or a deliberate period of time.
The celibate definition in religious life
Many traditions have a place for people who give up sex and marriage to focus on spiritual life. In the Catholic Church, priests in the Latin rite are expected to stay unmarried, and monks and nuns take vows that include chastity. Buddhist monastic rules ask fully ordained monks and nuns to refrain from sex. Some Hindu and Jain ascetics also live celibate lives, and the Sanskrit term often used for this discipline is brahmacharya.
Other traditions see it differently. Many Protestant churches, Judaism and Islam generally treat marriage as the normal and honored path, and celibacy as a personal choice rather than a rule for leaders. Related ideas are collected on our faith and belief words page.
How to use celibate in a sentence
As an adjective, celibate usually follows a linking verb or sits before a noun:
- be/stay/remain celibate: She decided to stay celibate while she worked on herself.
- a celibate life/priest/order: He joined a celibate religious order after college.
- go celibate (informal): A few of my friends went celibate for a while after bad breakups.
As a noun, a celibate means a person who lives this way, though it sounds a little formal. The state itself is celibacy: "Celibacy is required of monks in that monastery."
Examples from everyday life
- After two exhausting relationships, Priya chose to be celibate for a year and focus on her studies.
- The documentary followed a group of celibate monks who rise before dawn to pray.
- He was surprised to learn that his uncle had been celibate for most of his adult life.
- Some couples who marry later in life talk openly about having been celibate for long stretches.
Celibate, chaste, abstinent and asexual
These words overlap, but they are not the same:
| Word | Main idea |
|---|---|
| Celibate | Choosing not to have sex, often for a long time or for life; can include not marrying |
| Chaste | Sexually pure by a moral or religious standard; a married person can be chaste |
| Abstinent | Holding back from something, often sex, drink or certain foods, sometimes for a short time |
| Asexual | An orientation: feeling little or no sexual attraction, which is not the same as a choice |
So a celibate person may still feel attraction. Celibacy describes behavior, while asexuality describes attraction. Celibacy is also different from a platonic friendship, which describes a relationship, not a person's whole way of living.
Where the word comes from
Celibate goes back to the Latin caelebs, meaning unmarried, and caelibatus, the state of being single. English first used celibate as a noun for that state in the early 1600s, and the adjective sense, unmarried or sworn to stay single, first appears in the 1820s. Over time the focus on sex rather than marriage grew stronger over time, which is why most people today hear the word as being about sex.
Common mistakes
- Spelling: it is celibate, not celebate or celibrate. It is not related to celebrate.
- Assuming it means married couples cannot be celibate: they can. A married couple who stop having sex for a time may describe themselves this way.
- Using it as an insult: the word is neutral. It describes a choice, not a failure.
If you are thinking about loyalty inside a relationship, the word you want may be fidelity or monogamy instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does it mean if someone says they are celibate?
They mean they are not having sex, usually by choice. It may be for religious reasons, health, personal growth or simply a wish for a break. It does not tell you how long they plan to stay that way.
Is celibate the same as a virgin?
No. A virgin has never had sex. A celibate person may have had sex before and then chosen to stop. Some people are both, but the words mean different things.
How do you pronounce celibate?
Say SEL-uh-bit, putting the weight on SEL. The last part sounds like bit, not bait. The noun celibacy is SEL-uh-buh-see.
Can a married person be celibate?
Yes. In everyday use, celibate is about not having sex, so a married person who stops having sex for a time can be described as celibate. In the strict older sense, which meant unmarried, they would not be.
Is being celibate a positive or negative thing?
The word itself is neutral. Some people admire celibacy as discipline or devotion, while others see it as a personal choice with no moral weight. Context and tone decide how it comes across.
Which noun goes with celibate?
The state is celibacy. A person who lives this way can be called a celibate, though most people say a celibate person instead because it sounds more natural.