incontinence

/ɪnˈkɑntɪnɪns/

/ɪnˈkɒntɪnɪns/

Other forms: incontinences

Incontinence is a lack of control. Sometimes that means you can't help but pee your pants. Another, more pleasant type of incontinence has to do with being undisciplined and addicted to life's pleasures.

You probably don't want anything to do with incontinence. It could mean you're wetting the bed. It could also mean you're pooping your pants. Incontinence is something we expect of babies, but it can also happen to very sick or old people. Another kind of incontinence has to do with not being in control of your life. If you can't stop spending money, drinking, and staying out late, that's a type of incontinence, too.

Definitions of incontinence

1. noun

   involuntary urination or defecation
   synonyms: incontinency

   types:

   enuresis, urinary incontinence

   inability to control the flow of urine and involuntary urination

   bed-wetting

   enuresis during sleep; especially common in children (who usually outgrow it)

   overflow incontinence

   urinary incontinence that occurs when the bladder is so full that it continually leaks urine; often attributable to a blocked urethra (e.g., due to prostate enlargement) or weak bladder muscles or nerve damage

   stress incontinence

   urinary incontinence that occurs when involuntary pressure is put on the bladder by coughing or laughing or sneezing or lifting or straining

   urge incontinence

   urinary incontinence that is generally attributable to involuntary contracts of the bladder muscle resulting in an urgent need to urinate accompanied by a sudden loss of urine; most common in people over 60 years of age

   type of:

   elimination, evacuation, excreting, excretion, voiding

   the bodily process of discharging waste matter
2. noun

   indiscipline with regard to sensuous pleasures
   synonyms: dissoluteness, self-gratification

   types:

   rakishness

   the quality of a rake

   type of:

   indiscipline, undiscipline

   the trait of lacking discipline