incestuous
adjective
in·ces·tu·ous
| \ in-ˈses-chə-wəs
, -ˈsesh-\
, -ˈsesh-\
Definition of incestuous
1
: constituting or involving incest
2
: guilty of incest
3
: excessively or improperly intimate or exclusive
"… mainstream fashion magazines have an incestuous relationship with advertisers, and that undermines integrity."— Ike Ude
Keep scrolling for more
Examples of incestuous in a Sentence
There were rumors that the father and daughter had had an incestuous relationship.
Recent Examples on the Web
Pruning extraneous sensory data focuses our attention on the weirdly close, quasi-incestuous but also furious Cain-and-Abel-like rivalry of these two outsized avatars of the American dream. — New York Times, "Review: Sondheim’s Bumpy ‘Road Show,’ Now at the End of the Line," 25 July 2019 The incestuous marketing tactics didn’t stop there. — Tatum Dooley, Teen Vogue, "Kylie Jenner's #KylieSkinSummerTrip Was Full of Cute Looks – But Was it Spon Con?," 15 July 2019 Aster is a longtime fan of the horror genre and kicked off his career with a controversial short film called The Strange Thing About the Johnsons, in which a son develops a taboo incestuous relationship with this father. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Midsommar is a slasher film with artsy ambitions that doesn’t quite work," 4 July 2019 After all that double-crossing, battling, incestuous canoodling and crying in Westeros, some R and R is in order—and perhaps a break from donning furs, breastplates, and weaponry. — Christian Allaire, Vogue, "What Is the Game of Thrones Cast Working on Next?," 22 May 2019 After a surprisingly incestuous game of Rollin’ Roulette at a party (that's a drug-passing game involving tongues), the sisters dance and roller-skate through the dark. — Cady Drell, Marie Claire, "The 10 Biggest Moments From Sharp Objects Episode 6," 13 Aug. 2018 There’s this intense incestuous herd-like political journalism Twitter culture. — Eric Johnson, Recode, "Full Q&A: Ezra Klein and Kara Swisher on the future of journalism," 12 Dec. 2018 The incestuous relationship between the federal government and the central bank shows up on the asset side of the balance sheet, too. — Steve H. Hanke And John Greenwood, WSJ, "The Dollar, Not the IMF, Can Save Argentina," 26 Sep. 2018 Welcome to the small, incestuous world of Bachelor Nation, Becca, where former contestants often date contestants from other shows. — Lisa Bonos, chicagotribune.com, "Can smashing a car heal a broken heart? The best, worst and weirdest moments from 'The Bachelorette'," 5 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'incestuous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for incestuous
incestuous
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of incestuous
: involving sexual intercourse between closely related people : involving incest
See the full definition for incestuous in the English Language Learners Dictionary
incestuous
adjective
in·ces·tu·ous
| \ in-ˈses(h)-chə-wəs
\
\
Medical Definition of incestuous
1
: constituting or involving incest
2
: of, relating to, or guilty of incest
infantile incestuous wishes of the Oedipus complex