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.
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
The researchers relied on the Gaia satellite mission, which has collected detailed measurements for about two billion stars and other celestial objects.
From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2026
If the NFL has its way, this might just be a once-in-a-lifetime celestial occurrence.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 7, 2026
In line with his celestial fascination, the 31-year-old singer describes the creative process of his fifth studio album as being caught in a “black hole.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026
Metaphors like those about celestial campfires or galactic backbones were eventually replaced in most human cultures by another idea; The powerful beings in the sky were promoted to gods.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
