incontinent

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ɪnˈkɑntɪnənt/ UK /ɪnˈkɒntɪnənt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
unable to control bodily discharges; lacking self-restraint

The elderly patient had become incontinent and needed constant care.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · unable to control bodily... unrestrained unbridled uncontrolled intemperate licentious

Opposites

continent restrained temperateself-controlled

Word family

Derived forms incontinently incontinence

Related forms continent continence contain

Etymology

From Latin incontinens, from in- ('not') + continens ('holding together, restrained'), present participle of continere ('to hold together'), from com- ('together') + tenere ('to hold').

continere Latin tenere Latin *ten- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# incontinent

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ɪnˈkɑntɪnənt/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪnˈkɒntɪnənt/

## Meanings
1. unable to control bodily discharges; lacking self-restraint

## Examples
- The elderly patient had become incontinent and needed constant care.

## Synonyms
- unrestrained
- unbridled
- uncontrolled
- intemperate
- licentious

## Antonyms
- continent
- restrained
- temperate
- self-controlled

## Derived Forms
- incontinently
- incontinence

## Related Forms
- continent
- continence
- contain

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: continere
- Root: tenere
- Root: *ten-

## Etymology
From Latin incontinens, from in- ('not') + continens ('holding together, restrained'), present participle of continere ('to hold together'), from com- ('together') + tenere ('to hold').

## AI Etymology
Incontinent comes from Latin incontinens, from in- ('not') + continens ('holding together, restrained'), present participle of continere ('to hold together'), from com- ('together') + tenere ('to hold'). The etymological trail includes Latin continere, Latin tenere, and Proto-Indo-European *ten-. As an adjective, incontinent means unable to control bodily discharges; lacking self-restraint. The same family is visible in derived forms such as incontinently and incontinence and related forms such as continent, continence, and contain. Morphologically, the word is built from the elements named in its history, so the modern form preserves a visible compound, prefix, or suffix structure.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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