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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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2
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4
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of continence 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for continence
Noun
  • White is generally associated with purity and holiness.
    BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2025
  • The International Atomic Energy Agency earlier this month warned that Iran has developed some 440 pounds of near-weapons grade uranium that has been enriched to the 60% purity threshold – shy of the 90% purity levels needed to develop a nuclear bomb.
    Caitlin McFall, Fox News, 31 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • State complaints, discipline and Brazilian butt lift injury or death present nothing new for New Life Plastic Surgery, 8400 SW Eighth St., which lists Morales among its surgeons.
    David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2025
  • If not, consider how incorporating the discipline of stillness into your life could be of benefit to you.
    Contributed Content, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Changes in legislation last year outlawed the use of face down prone restraints on students and resulted in several police departments to suspend its school officer agreements and remove officers from campuses.
    Jacqueline Devine, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
  • Under Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns, the Mets showed financial restraint in dealing with Alonso, a fan favorite in New York.
    Will Sammon, The Athletic, 6 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Where temperance crusaders once wielded biblical rhetoric, today’s public health researchers arrive with cancer studies and statistics.
    Jackie Snow, Quartz, 13 Jan. 2025
  • The country's past cultural battles, over immigration, slavery, evolution, temperance, McCarthyism, and civil rights, were arguably more serious than any of today's.
    Joseph S. Nye Jr., Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2010
Noun
  • Mixing personal narrative with cultural criticism, the author of Girlhood explores how celibacy radicalized her, giving her permission to put all of her focus on herself, her work, and the platonic relationships that deserved more of her attention.
    Shannon Carlin, TIME, 17 Dec. 2024
  • Key Survey Findings: 43% of Black Gen Z daters are practicing celibacy.
    Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 12 Sep. 2024
Noun
  • Even though the film is set in the period of the 40’s and 50’s and is about a celebrated Hungarian architect coming to America for a new life and new opportunities after repression in his own country, Brody is proud that the Brady Corbet film has relevance for what is happening now.
    Pete Hammond, Deadline, 14 Feb. 2025
  • Previous reports from the United Nations had warned that those actions were systematically implemented by Maduro’s repression apparatus.
    Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 2 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The series eschews any sort of sexuality, with even Nico’s desires getting toned down to the point of total chastity.
    Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Jan. 2025
  • The anti-erotic Christianity that Monica professed condemned the vanity of human learning and encouraged chastity.
    Mark Lilla, Harper's Magazine, 2 Oct. 2024
Noun
  • This could be a time to release these inhibitions and accept new journeys rather than being stuck in old patterns.
    Athena Sobhan, People.com, 30 Jan. 2025
  • Lammy shed his inhibitions—and found a national platform, in the media—while his future in the Party clouded over.
    Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near continence

Cite this Entry

“Continence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/continence. Accessed 19 Feb. 2025.

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