plural incels
: a person (usually a man) who regards himself or herself as being involuntarily celibate and typically expresses extreme resentment and hostility toward those who are sexually active
The term "incels" emerged from a Reddit group in which tens of thousands of users, most of them young men, commiserate about their lack of sexual activity—many of them placing the blame on women.—
Josh O'Kane
Josh O'KaneIn recent years, a number of these men have identified as so-called incels, short for involuntary celibates, an online subculture of men who express rage at women for denying them sex and who frequently fantasize about violence and celebrate mass shooters in their online discussion groups.—Julie Bosman et al.
Julie Bosman et al.Examples of incel in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But after falling prey to one too many lecherous interactions, including with her incel stepbrother Brad (Will Connolly), Dawn’s feminine rage takes over and she transitions from cherubic church leader to murderous siren.
—Brittani Samuel, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024
These incels receive violence and then send it back.
—Ben Croll, Variety, 3 Sep. 2023
Investigators learned Genco self-identified as an incel and had profiles on incel websites between July 2019 and March 2020, according to an indictment.
—Jennifer Rodriguez, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2024
In the end, Todd Phillips’s Joker, a film which had generated frenzied debate about incel culture and violence, scooped Venice’s top prize, while Polanski was the runner-up and landed the Grand Jury Prize.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 29 Aug. 2023
The incel community fascinated me, particularly in its violence.
—Ben Croll, Variety, 3 Sep. 2023
TikTok is trying to tweak its algorithm in response to growing concerns that young users are awash in content encouraging suicide and incel ideology.
—WIRED, 28 July 2023
The mental health issues, isolation, bitterness and misogynistic thinking that often characterizes incel culture can lead incels to align themselves with increasingly extreme beliefs.
—Aj Willingham, CNN, 16 Mar. 2023
That this genius is also a murderer with some very strong incel vibes didn’t occur to me till a lot later.
—Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2023
Brittani Samuel, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024
These incels receive violence and then send it back.
—Ben Croll, Variety, 3 Sep. 2023
Investigators learned Genco self-identified as an incel and had profiles on incel websites between July 2019 and March 2020, according to an indictment.
—Jennifer Rodriguez, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2024
In the end, Todd Phillips’s Joker, a film which had generated frenzied debate about incel culture and violence, scooped Venice’s top prize, while Polanski was the runner-up and landed the Grand Jury Prize.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 29 Aug. 2023
The incel community fascinated me, particularly in its violence.
—Ben Croll, Variety, 3 Sep. 2023
TikTok is trying to tweak its algorithm in response to growing concerns that young users are awash in content encouraging suicide and incel ideology.
—WIRED, 28 July 2023
The mental health issues, isolation, bitterness and misogynistic thinking that often characterizes incel culture can lead incels to align themselves with increasingly extreme beliefs.
—Aj Willingham, CNN, 16 Mar. 2023
That this genius is also a murderer with some very strong incel vibes didn’t occur to me till a lot later.
—Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'incel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Incel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incel. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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