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View synonyms for

incest

[ in-sest ]

noun

  1. sexual intercourse between closely related persons.
  2. the crime of sexual intercourse, cohabitation, or marriage between persons within the degrees of consanguinity or affinity wherein marriage is legally forbidden.


incest

/ ˈɪԲɛ /

noun

  1. sexual intercourse between two persons commonly regarded as too closely related to marry
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

incest

  1. Sexual relations between relatives who are forbidden by law to marry; for example, between father and daughter or mother and son.
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Notes

Though each society has its own system for determining the range of people who fall into this category, every society has an incest taboo of some sort.
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Word History and Origins

Origin of incest1

1175–1225; Middle English < Latin incestus (noun) sexual impurity, derivative of incestus (adj.) profane, sexually impure ( in- in- 3 + -cestus combining form of castus chaste ), by analogy with v. nouns derived with -tus
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Word History and Origins

Origin of incest1

C13: from Latin incestus incest (from adj: impure, defiled), from in- 1+ castus chaste
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

In ‘Absalom, Absalom,’ incest is less of a taboo for an upper-class Southern family than acknowledging the one drop of black blood that would clearly soil the family line.

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“I’ve received so many testimonials from other women but also teenagers because of incest, when drugs are often used.”

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The incest storyline is just easily dismissed with Lochlan’s “I’m a pleaser” explanation without Saxon reflecting on why he was smooching his sibling.

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In recent weeks, the series faced scrutiny for an incest storyline and nixing mention of a nonbinary character.

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I was hoping White would leave the younger siblings alone, but I suppose Loch, especially after the incest thing, and Piper are fair game.

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