adjective
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relating to or involving incest
an incestuous union
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guilty of incest
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obsolete resulting from incest
an incestuous bastard
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resembling incest in excessive or claustrophobic intimacy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of incestuous
1525–35; < Late Latin incestuōsus, equivalent to Latin incestu- stem of incestus incest + -ōsus -ous
Vocabulary lists containing incestuous
Novel Study: Hamlet, Acts 1–2
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"The Tragedy of Hamlet," Vocabulary from Act 1
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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.
Previous studies of ancient DNA obtained from Tut and several other members of the royal family revealed clues to his incestuous lineage.
From Scientific American • Nov. 4, 2022
The relationship between the two is so incestuous, it is often just two steps away from a certified Greek tragedy — or a family reunion straight out of "Deliverance."
From Salon • Dec. 2, 2021
Just ask anyone who has read Mark Leibovich’s 2013 classic “This Town,” about the symbiotic and incestuous relationship between politicians and the D.C. press.
From Washington Post • Aug. 26, 2020
The show had never been shy about the incestuous love affair between art and commerce, and so it proved a workable vessel for a commercial that needed to be delivered with a no-BS wink.
From The Guardian • Jul. 17, 2020
This loose, slippery, and incestuous relationship between facts and theories is called the principle of underdetermination.
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.
