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.
The cast’s choices are like weather-balloon data that presage the disaster of the movie’s climax, when everyone behaves like an emotionally incontinent millennial.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
He fell into a coma, became incontinent and quadriplegic.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026
"It's being that sandwich generation, where you're between incontinent toddlers and incontinent OAPs – and it's nappies at both ends."
From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2026
If you’ve ever tried to wrangle a hissing, scratching, flailing, selectively incontinent beast into a cat carrier, you’ll appreciate the way Amy Attas practices veterinary medicine: She makes house calls.
From New York Times ● Jun. 19, 2024
If your aged parents have grown tiresome or incontinent, you put them away where others will deal with their dirty diapers and dementia.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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.
