celibacy
/ˈsɛləbəsi/
"celibacy" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“celibacy” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #32,312. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #32,312
- frequency rank, English
- 43,570
- “C” headwords
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Abstaining from marriage; the state of being unmarried.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | celibacy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsɛləbəsi/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #32,312 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “celibacy” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 12 spelling variants around celibacy (IPA /ˈsɛləbəsi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #32,312 among 43,570 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for celibacy, with forms such as "ccelibacy", "ceilbacy", and "celbiacy". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "celibate", "celiac", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin caelibātus (“celibacy, a single life”), from caelebs (“unmarried”). The correct English form is celibacy, spelled C-E-L-I-B-A-C-Y.
Definition
- 1Abstaining from marriage; the state of being unmarried.
- 2Abstinence from sexual relations.
Etymology
From Latin caelibātus (“celibacy, a single life”), from caelebs (“unmarried”).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ccelibacy
- ceilbacy
- celbiacy
- celiabcy
- celibaccy
- celibacyy
- celibayc
- celibbacy
- celibcay
- cellibacy
- cleibacy
- eclibacy
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of celibacy - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "celibacy"?
What does "celibacy" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "celibacy"?
How do you pronounce "celibacy"?
What is the origin of the word "celibacy"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “celibacy”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-E-L-I-B-A-C-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsɛləbəsi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “celibate” - see the side-by-side comparison. celibacy vs celibate
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Same frequency band
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.