<P> A.W. Richard Sipe , while focusing on the topic of celibacy in Catholicism , states that `` the most commonly assumed definition of celibate is simply an unmarried or single person , and celibacy is perceived as synonymous with sexual abstinence or restraint . '' Sipe adds that even in the relatively uniform milieu of Catholic priests in the United States `` there is simply no clear operational definition of celibacy '' . Elizabeth Abbott commented on the terminology in her A History of Celibacy ( 2001 ) : `` I also drafted a definition that discarded the rigidly pedantic and unhelpful distinctions between celibacy , chastity and virginity '' . </P>
<P> A.W. Richard Sipe , while focusing on the topic of celibacy in Catholicism , states that `` the most commonly assumed definition of celibate is simply an unmarried or single person , and celibacy is perceived as synonymous with sexual abstinence or restraint . '' Sipe adds that even in the relatively uniform milieu of Catholic priests in the United States `` there is simply no clear operational definition of celibacy '' . Elizabeth Abbott commented on the terminology in her A History of Celibacy ( 2001 ) : `` I also drafted a definition that discarded the rigidly pedantic and unhelpful distinctions between celibacy , chastity and virginity '' . </P>
one who has vowed not to marry one word
one who has vowed not to marry one word
celibate
celibate