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as in purity
abstention from sexual intercourse argued for a pregnancy-prevention program that did not put so much faith in the continence of teenagers

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as in temperance
voluntary restraint in the satisfaction of one's appetites a gambling mecca that has a reputation for being the sort of place where caution and continence are thrown to the wind

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Examples of continence in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web This includes the five major types: stress incontinence, urge incontinence, mixed incontinence, overflow incontinence, and functional continence. Jamin Brahmbhatt, Verywell Health, 29 July 2024 Good posture helps maintain continence, support pelvic organs, and reduce back pain. Staci Tanouye, Parents, 29 Aug. 2023 Profligate spending under George W. Bush forever made laughable any Republican assertion of fiscal continence. Christopher Buckley, Washington Post, 5 Aug. 2022 Any chance Sally or Ed has anxiety, digestive or continence issues, hearing loss …? Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 29 Jan. 2023 Aging in the modern era is about slow unstoppable loss - of hearing, of memory, of mobility, of continence, of dignity. Kyle Munkittrick, Discover Magazine, 9 Sep. 2011 To maintain continence, the puborectalis muscle chokes the anal canal. Cara Schacter, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2022 But even with the delayed start, most healthy, neurotypical kids achieve at least daytime continence by age three. Leah Campbell, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2021 Share prices have soared for large Danish health companies such as Coloplast — a major player in the market for colostomy pouches, continence and skin and wound care treatments — and Genmab, a biotech company specializing in cancer treatments. Matt Phillips, New York Times, 7 Aug. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'continence.' 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

“Continence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/continence. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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