celibate
/ˈsɛləbət/adjective, noun, verb
celibate is spelled C-E-L-I-B-A-T-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, celibate means “Not married” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in celibate?
| Letters | 8: C-E-L-I-B-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,267th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is celibate?
Celibate appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce celibate?
- /ˈsɛləbət/
Celibate has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-ca-celibate.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of celibate
- celibates present, singular, he/she/it
- celibating participle, present
- celibated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does celibate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Not married.
- 2
Abstaining from sexual relations and pleasures.
Members of religious communities sometimes take vows to remain celibate.
noun
- 1
One who is not married, especially one who has taken a religious vow not to get married, usually because of being a member of a religious community.
- 2
obsoleteA celibate state; celibacy.
verb
- 1
rareTo practice celibacy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate celibate?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of celibate: cel.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Celibate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | célibataire |
| German | ehelos, unverheiratet, keusch, zölibatär, sexuell enthaltsam , Unverheirateter |
| Portuguese | celibatário , celibatária |
| Spanish | célibe |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does celibate come from?
Probably from the noun (“celibacy”) or from celibacy on the model of privacy/private, etc. Alternatively, from Latin caelebs (“single”) + -ate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).