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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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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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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
  • The dial center suggests the purity of mountain waters and shifts to an intense blue.
    Anthony DeMarco, Forbes.com, 1 Apr. 2025
  • The first is that it was named for the purity of its water.
    Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • That discipline has helped broaden the National Rally’s appeal, especially in the aftermath of Macron’s defeat in the 2024 European elections.
    Thomas Adamson, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2025
  • The special section of Art Bulletin—which, as the discipline’s flagship journal, constitutes a semiofficial statement about AI’s importance in the field—devoted the majority of its space to critical commentary about the application of computer vision to works of art.
    Sonja Drimmer, Artforum, 1 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The chance that American attacks on Houthis could prompt attacks on Saudi Arabia and a renewal of the kingdom’s brutal war in Yemen was a chief concern of the Biden administration, a prime reason that White House operated with a degree of restraint in its strikes on Houthi targets.
    New York Times, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
  • Sullivan, 56, was charged with first-degree unlawful restraint, cruelty to persons and first-degree reckless endangerment.
    Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 25 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The original temperance movement similarly popularized a number of new beverages, such as sodas and fruit juices.
    Shayla Love, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2025
  • Asked about how Kia will respond to tariffs from the Trump administration, the CEO projected temperance.
    Kristin Shaw, Ars Technica, 27 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Francis’s promise to reconsider the doctrine of priestly celibacy had gone nowhere . . .
    Paul Elie, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2025
  • 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
Noun
  • Reflecting on the circumstances that led to his detainment, Khalil accused the federal government of Palestinian repression, and the current and former presidents of Columbia of paving the way for the Trump administration.
    Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 19 Mar. 2025
  • Speaking at the rally, Brown University student Kai Blades called the deportation part of a broader pattern of political repression.
    Kathy McCormack, Twin Cities, 17 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The rules include abstaining from substances that are already forbidden by the LDS Church, practicing chastity, forgoing the use of profanity and following a dress code that prohibits men from wearing beards or goatees and requires skirts to be no shorter than knee-length.
    Ashley Hume, Fox News, 18 Mar. 2025
  • 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
Noun
  • However, there are widespread inhibitions against the use of fast chargers, as they’re widely believed to reduce the total lifespan of an EV battery – although there is currently little data to support the theory.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 20 Mar. 2025
  • This piece of information is delivered in a nightclub, a Dionysian space where the whole point is to lose your inhibitions.
    Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 17 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Continence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/continence. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.

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