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.

---

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

---

incontinent ² British  

/ ɪnˈkɒntɪnənt /

adverb

1. obsolete words for immediately

---

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

Janette, 67, who was a former carer herself, has dementia and is doubly incontinent.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2025

But two days later the pain was increasing and she realised she was incontinent.

From BBC • Aug. 14, 2023

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