incontinent
Americanadjective
-
unable to restrain natural discharges or evacuations of urine or feces.
-
unable to contain or retain (usually followed byof ).
incontinent of temper.
-
lacking in moderation or self-control, especially of sexual desire.
-
unceasing or unrestrained.
an incontinent flow of talk.
adjective
-
lacking in restraint or control, esp sexually
-
relating to or exhibiting involuntary urination or defecation
-
(foll by of) having little or no control (over)
-
unrestrained; uncontrolled
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of incontinent
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin incontinent- (stem of incontinēns ); see in- 3, continent (adjective)
Explanation
One of the less glamorous parts of parenthood is being responsible for an incontinent newborn who can't control the urge to urinate or defecate. Incontinent is an adjective that describes someone who “goes to the bathroom” without actually being able to make it to the bathroom. Babies and children are incontinent until they are potty-trained and adults can be incontinent as a result of illness or injury. The -continent part of the word doesn’t have anything to do with geography, but rather is from a Latin word meaning “holding together.”
Vocabulary lists containing incontinent
Kindred
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The Time Machine
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An Abundance of Katherines
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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.
He fell into a coma, became incontinent and quadriplegic.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
She has a learning disability, hypermobility, is doubly incontinent, and is more susceptible to cancers.
From BBC • Feb. 11, 2025
Susan can no longer have a conversation, use cutlery and is incontinent.
From BBC • Jan. 5, 2024
She remembered waiting for hours in triage, crying and incontinent, until she gave up and headed to a third hospital, which gave her antibiotics for a urinary tract infection.
From Salon • Mar. 15, 2023
When Khubchand, his beloved, blind, bald, incontinent seventeen-year-old mongrel decided to stage a miserable, long- drawn-out death, Estha nursed him through his final ordeal as though his own life somehow depended on it.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
