Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Abstinence from sexual intercourse, especially by reason of religious vows.
- n. The condition of being unmarried.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The state of being celibate or unmarried; a single life; voluntary abstention from marriage: as, the celibacy of the clergy.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The state of being unmarried; single life, esp. that of a bachelor, or of one bound by vows not to marry.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an unmarried status
- n. abstaining from sexual relations (as because of religious vows)
Etymologies
- From Latin caelibatus ("celibacy, a single life"), perfect passive participle of caelibare, from caelebs ("unmarried"). (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Pope Benedict XVI said that the Vatican's recent sex-abuse crisis might prompt aspiring priests to question the Catholic Church's requirement that clergy be celibate, wading for the first time into a debate over whether priestly celibacy is partly to blame for the abuse.”
“But a look at the behavior of politicians and Protestant ministers -- even just those iceberg tips that actually emerge into daylight -- should tell us that celibacy is a small part of the story.”
The Huffington Post: Valerie Tarico: The Protestant Clergy Sex Abuse Pattern
“The problem with the church's insistence on clerical celibacy is not sexual but social.”
“For now, at least, celibacy is not open for discussion.”
“Moreover, priestly celibacy is held in great honor in the Eastern Churches and many priests have freely chosen it for the sake of the Kingdom of God.”
“Forcing a doctrine of sin and damnation, combined with mandatory celibacy, is bound to create psychological anguish in the population pre-disposed to these tendencies.”
“Therefore celibacy is also an imperfect question for a man or a woman.”
“Rome does not teach that celibacy is a sacrament; actually, it's marriage that Rome teaches is a sacrament.”
“But he called celibacy a great sign of faith, and said it represents an act of transcendence that brings the priest closer to God.”
“Forcing my husband to convert so that we may enjoy holy celibacy is sexier.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘celibacy’.
-
Reading Vocab
ulterior, warrant, syllogism, precious, impiety, maroon, aigrette, batiste, topsy-turvy ago, midnight crush, cantankerous, slovenly and 180 more...
-
remnants of a catholic childhood
extreme unction, viaticum, maundy thursday, spy wednesday, good friday, papabile, monstrance, septuagesima, monsignor, thurible, chasuble, alb and 110 more...
-
What Do You Mean ?
U Gotta Know These.......
falter, ruddy, flounder, pallid, fumble, founder, labile, titular, tacit, pragmatic, fatalism, jaded and 112 more...
-
Words I Know
List of most of the words I've learned
garner, abase, abate, abdicate, abduct, aberration, abet, abhor, abide, abject, abjure, abnegation and 1046 more...
-
SAT vocab
abash, abdicate, abate, aberration, abhor, abject, abnegate, abortive, absolve, abstruse, accolade, accost and 175 more...
-
Vocab++
Words as I learn them.
fetid, mezzanine, hiatus, austerity, subliminal, resplendent, implacable, impugn, debase, exiguous, cirque, holster and 2538 more...
-
Let's talk about sex
A collection of words about doing the nasty.
prurient, odalisque, soubrette, gravid, lochia, xenogamy, syngamy, zygote, pintle, hexaploid, seminal, hetaera and 232 more...
-
stpeter's Words
abase, abasement, abashed, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abhorrent, abide, abject, ablation, abnegation and 3536 more...
-
breeze debris
autodidact, hollographic, neurotheology, pensive, grapple, nondual, integral, phantasmagoria, burnished, capacious, ginger, astral and 120 more...
-
DEF's list
Obscure Words
obfuscate, harbinger, morose, meniscus, conspicuous, grandiose, cogitated, matron, erudite, oness, apothegms, assuage and 475 more...
-
Norman Lewis
All Words
ebullient, eccentric, eclectic, edify, efface, effusion, egalitarian, egocentric, egoist, egregious, elicit, elliptical and 907 more...
-
the smut-list
celibacy, rubber, coitus, foreplay, phallus, bukkake, cunnilingus, frottage, bugger, erotica, condom, booby and 63 more...
-
"The Devil and Tom Walker"
intriguing words from Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker"
termagant, swarthy, dingy, begrimed, boding, repose, squaw, clapper-clawing, balk, emblem, askance, celibacy and 12 more...
-
Lee Words
Words for Lee. :3
nictitate, babyface, pallbearer, venom, short, sunglasses, celibacy, loneliness, blood, debt, blush, damned and 5 more...
-
Let's Talk About Sex
pansexual, bisexual, heterosexual, homosexual, intercourse, coitus, copulation, foreplay, orgasm, phallus, phallic, yonic and 14 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for celibacy.
Comments
No comments yet...
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.