celestial
Americanadjective
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pertaining to the sky or visible heaven, or to the universe beyond the earth’s atmosphere, as in
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pertaining to the spiritual or invisible heaven; heavenly; divine.
celestial bliss.
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of or relating to celestial navigation.
a celestial fix.
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Celestial, of or relating to the former Chinese Empire or the Chinese people.
noun
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an inhabitant of heaven.
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Celestial, a citizen of the Celestial Empire.
adjective
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heavenly; divine; spiritual
celestial peace
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of or relating to the sky
celestial bodies
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Relating to the sky or the heavens. Stars and planets are celestial bodies.
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Relating to the celestial sphere or to any of the coordinate systems by which the position of an object, such as a star or planet, is represented on it.
Other Word Forms
- celestiality noun
- celestially adverb
- celestialness noun
- noncelestial adjective
- noncelestially adverb
- supercelestial adjective
- supercelestially adverb
- uncelestial adjective
Etymology
Origin of celestial
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Medieval Latin cēlestiālis, equivalent to Latin caelesti(s) “heavenly” ( cael(um “heaven, sky” + -estis adjective suffix) + -ālis -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
So far, Artemis II has flown human beings farther than anyone has ever traveled, doing a single lap around the moon before heading home and producing some stunning photos of celestial spheres in the process.
From Salon • Apr. 7, 2026
During the Moon flyby, which will last for several hours, the crew will have to observe the celestial body with their naked eyes, along with cameras they have on board.
From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026
The mission's commander, Reid Wiseman, took the "spectacular" images, Nasa says, after the crew completed a final engine burn that set them on a trajectory towards our closest celestial neighbour.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026
Standing next to her father, Marco Jaime, she led the crowd through a celestial journey with her synth-heavy track “Solo Tu Bb.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026
This would certainly have presented difficulties for the theory of the celestial spheres, and was regarded by contemporaries as being closer to the Tychonic than the Ptolemaic system.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
