Definition of Celibacy
(noun) The intentional absence of sexual activities.
Example of Celibacy
- Chastity before marriage.
Celibacy Pronunciation
Syllabification: cel·i·ba·cy
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /sEl-uh-buh-see/
- British English – /sE-li-buh-see/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈsɛləbəsi/
- British English – /ˈsɛlɪbəsi/
Usage Notes
- Plural: celibacies
- Celibacy can be both voluntary and involuntary. When it is involuntary it is called incel.
- Celibacy historically referred to being unmarried.
Additional Information
- Sex and Gender Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “celibacy” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Crooks, Robert, and Karla Baur. 2014. Our Sexuality. 12th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Cite the Definition of Celibacy
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “celibacy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved November 28, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/celibacy/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
celibacy. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/celibacy/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “celibacy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed November 28, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/celibacy/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“celibacy.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/celibacy/>.