incel
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of incel
First recorded in 1990–95; earlier INVCEL, short for involuntarily celibate
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.
He rose to fame as a “looksmaxxer,” which is a spin-off of the larger incel community.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
Earlier this month, Peters walked out of an interview with “60 Minutes Australia” after being asked whether he identifies with the incel community.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
The word incel crops up, as does American gun culture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
"It's quite easy to make a version of that story where he's a sort of toxic incel male conspiracy theorist nut who you don't really sympathize with," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Mar. 1, 2026
Perhaps surprisingly, "incel" wasn't a familiar term to Ben, and his dad Martin had to explain it as they watched the programme.
From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2025
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