celibacy
noun
cel·i·ba·cy
| \ ˈse-lə-bə-sē
\
\
Definition of celibacy
1
: the state of not being married
2a
: abstention from sexual intercourse
b
: abstention by vow from marriage
priestly celibacy
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Synonyms for celibacy
Synonyms
abstinence, chasteness, chastity, continence
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Examples of celibacy in a Sentence
a widower who has maintained absolute celibacy since the death of his wife
Recent Examples on the Web
But by the 16th century celibacy was the rule throughout the Roman Catholic Church. — Francis X. Rocca, WSJ, "Vatican Calls for Consideration of Married Priests in Remote Amazon," 17 June 2019 Perhaps realising how bad things had become, my grandfather agreed to take a vow of celibacy in the presence of a swami. — Vikram Zutshi, Quartz India, "Why do abusive men (and the women who support them) behave the way they do?," 19 July 2019 Meghna Pant, a female activist, said the celibacy of the deity was not more important than the equality of women. — Ashok Sharma, The Seattle Times, "Indian temple set to allow entry to females who menstruate," 17 Oct. 2018 More essays Church leaders typically reject a link between celibacy and abuse. — Francis X. Rocca, WSJ, "Catholics Debate the Future of Priestly Celibacy," 27 June 2019 Mother Ann Lee experienced four miscarriages, which likely informed her celibacy doctrine. — Diana Budds, Curbed, "One of America’s most popular furniture styles was invented by a celibate religious sect," 21 June 2019 Back then, the supreme court had even said that the deity had the right to keep its vow of celibacy under right to privacy. — Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz India, "Birds to holy rivers: A list of everything India considers “legal persons”," 6 June 2019 Priests are set apart, by celibacy, by sacramental powers. — Garry Wills, The New York Review of Books, "Garry Wills," 29 June 2016 That cannot happen with the continuance of the mandatory vow of celibacy. — WSJ, "Deal With the Priests Who Molest the Young," 25 Jan. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'celibacy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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