Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Self-restraint; moderation.
- n. Voluntary control over urinary and fecal discharge.
- n. Partial or complete abstention from sexual activity. See Synonyms at abstinence.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In general, self-restraint with regard to desires and passions; self-command.
- n. In a special sense, the restraint of the sexual passion within due bounds, whether absolute, as in celibacy, or within lawful limits, as in marriage; chastity.
- n. Capacity for holding or containing: as, a measure which has only one half the continence of another. Continuity; uninterrupted course.
Wiktionary
- n. The voluntary control of urination and defecation.
- n. Moderation or self-restraint, especially in sexual activity; abstinence.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Self-restraint; self-command.
- n. The restraint which a person imposes upon his desires and passions; the act or power of refraining from indulgence of the sexual appetite, esp. from unlawful indulgence; sometimes, moderation in sexual indulgence.
- n. Uninterrupted course; continuity.
WordNet 3.0
- n. voluntary control over urinary and fecal discharge
- n. the exercise of self constraint in sexual matters
Examples
“Nurses and nurse practitioners who are trained in continence care are needed to help provide support for those individuals living with incontinence in the community and their caregivers.”
Dr. Sharma’s Obesity Notes » Blog Archive » Obesity Network Joins Incontinence Coalition
“And, while Jeff's comment on clerical continence is premature, I suspect we are heading toward a serious re-examination of that issue at the universal level.”
“Full bladder continence is pretty much there in spite of his obvious fear of any public toilet (remember that big insulated bubble he has) but we have yet to poopin the potty.”
“With all its color and fierce action, a certain Greek continence pervades it.”
“Periodic continence, that is, the methods of birth regulation based on self-observation and the use of infertile periods, is in conformity with the objective criteria of morality.”
“The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "Periodic continence, that is, the methods of birth regulation based on self-observation and the use of infertile periods, is in conformity with the objective criteria of morality.”
The Wall Street Journal: One Church, Universal and Not Opposed to Family Planning
“Hence by receiving a certain order a man receives the power of exercising certain sacred acts, but he is not bound on this account to things pertaining to perfection, except in so far as in the Western Church the receiving of a sacred order includes the taking of a vow of continence, which is one of the things pertaining to perfection, as we shall state further on (Q. 186, A. 4).”
“As a form of continence, however, if it can be called continence, it is asserted to bring none of the long course of evils which too often follow the practice of lifelong abstinence, or abstinence broken only when a child is desired.”
“He speaks of the "Indian men who, animal-like, approach a female only to make love to her," and to whom the idea of continence is unknown”
“For this reason, and because the conditions of what is licit are so accommodating and wide, a certain negative virtue (it can hardly be called continence or chastity) pervades Mohammedan society, in contrast with which the gross and systematic immorality in certain parts of every”
Two Old Faiths Essays on the Religions of the Hindus and the Mohammedans
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catspringer "Give me chastity and continence, but not yet." -- St. Augustine Mar 2, 2009