incontinent

American  

[in-kon-tn-uhnt] / ɪnˈkɒn tn ənt /

adjective

1. unable to restrain natural discharges or evacuations of urine or feces.

2. unable to contain or retain (usually followed byof ).

   incontinent of temper.

3. lacking in moderation or self-control, especially of sexual desire.

4. unceasing or unrestrained.

   an incontinent flow of talk.

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incontinent ¹ British  

/ ɪnˈkɒntɪnənt /

adjective

1. lacking in restraint or control, esp sexually

2. relating to or exhibiting involuntary urination or defecation

3. (foll by of) having little or no control (over)

4. unrestrained; uncontrolled

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incontinent ² British  

/ ɪnˈkɒntɪnənt /

adverb

1. obsolete words for immediately

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Other Word Forms

• incontinence noun
• incontinency noun
• incontinently adverb

Etymology

Origin of incontinent

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin incontinent- (stem of incontinēns ); in- ³, continent (adjective)

Example Sentences

He fell into a coma, became incontinent and quadriplegic.

From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026

"I was getting incontinent, so I needed to go to the toilet a lot, like every like five minutes, sometimes even like less than that," Wesley said.

From BBC • Nov. 21, 2025

After he teed off in 2003 on the Fox teenage drama “The O.C.” as a “moody, moon-faced trifle,” the show fired back with a hospital scene featuring a patient named Tom Shales, who is incontinent.

From New York Times • Jan. 16, 2024

Sam Hindle experienced bladder prolapse after the birth of her son 24 years ago and has been incontinent ever since.

From BBC • Jan. 12, 2024

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