incontinent

[in-kon-tn-uh nt] /ɪnˈkɒn tn ənt/
adjective
1.
unable to restrain natural discharges or evacuations of urine or feces.
2.
unable to contain or retain (usually followed by of):
incontinent of temper.
3.
lacking in moderation or self-control, especially of sexual desire.
4.
unceasing or unrestrained:
an incontinent flow of talk.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English < Latin incontinent- (stem of incontinēns). See in-3, continent (adj.)
Related forms
incontinence, incontinency, noun
Can be confused
incontinent, inconsistent (see synonym study at inconsistent)
Examples from the web for incontinent
  • In such cases, people may become incontinent because they have difficulty with self-control.
  • Many of the children must use wheelchairs, and many are incontinent.
  • Two people are needed to turn him every two hours day and night to prevent bedsores, and he is incontinent and catheterized.
  • And the would-be mothers, their insides wrecked, were utterly incontinent.
  • Caught in a series of bureaucratic tangles, he has slept in shelters and on the streets, often incontinent and feverish.
  • Sometimes the reasons for the new status can be apparent, as when a resident becomes incontinent.
  • And the would-be mothers, their insides wrecked, are utterly incontinent.
  • He became slow, disoriented, forgetful and incontinent.
  • Prostate removal is a delicate surgical procedure that renders many patients impotent, incontinent or both.
  • He was in any event severely crippled, even for a time paralysed and incontinent.
British Dictionary definitions for incontinent

incontinent1

/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
Derived Forms
incontinence, incontinency, noun
incontinently, adverb
Word Origin
C14: from Old French, from Latin incontinens, from in-1 + continere to hold, restrain

incontinent2

/ɪnˈkɒntɪnənt/
adverb
1.
obsolete words for immediately
Word Origin
C15: from Late Latin in continentī tempore, literally: in continuous time, that is, with no interval
Word Origin and History for incontinent
adj.

late 14c., "wanting in self restraint," from Old French incontinent, from Latin incontinentem (nominative incontinens) "incontinent, immoderate, intemperate," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + continens (see continent). Originally chiefly of sexual appetites; sense of "unable to control bowels or bladder" first attested 1828.

incontinent in Medicine

incontinent in·con·ti·nent (ĭn-kŏn'tə-nənt)
adj.

  1. Lacking normal voluntary control of excretory functions.

  2. Lacking sexual restraint; unchaste.