incontinence

From Middle English incontinence, from Old French incontinence, from Latin incontinentia.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈkɒntɪnəns/

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incontinence (countable and uncountable, plural incontinences)

1. (dated) Lack of self-restraint, an inability to control oneself; unchastity.

   verbal incontinence

   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:

     Allworthy was sufficiently offended by this transgression of Jones; for notwithstanding the assertions of Mr Western, it is certain this worthy man had never indulged himself in any loose pleasures with women, and greatly condemned the vice of incontinence in others.

   • 2023 December 8, Jennifer Senior, “What Will Happen to the American Psyche If Trump Is Reelected?”, in The Atlantic‎^[1]:

     There were times, during the first two years of the Biden presidency, when I came close to forgetting about it all: the taunts and the provocations; the incitements and the resentments; the disorchestrated reasoning; the verbal incontinence; the press conferences fueled by megalomania, vengeance, and a soupçon of hydroxychloroquine.

2. (urology) The inability of any of the physical organs to restrain discharges of their contents; involuntary discharge or evacuation (of urine or feces).
   • 2024 July 10, “Network News: 'Boys Need Bins' backed by GTR”, in RAIL, number 1013, page 23:

     The objective is to make life easier for male colleagues and customers with urinary incontinence.

• (lack of self-restraint): akrasia, incontinency

• continence
• (antonym(s) of “lack of self-restraint”): chastity

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “incontinence”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “incontinence”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

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incontinence f (plural incontinences)

1. incontinence

• “incontinence”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.