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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
But this ostensibly confirmed celibate oozes a gentle, undeniable sensuality. Ben Brantley, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2016
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.