incel

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
7
Words With Friends
10
Letters
5
Pronunciation
/ˈɪnˌsɛl/

Definition of incel

5 senses · 2 parts of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. (countable, uncountable)A member of an online subculture of people (mostly men) who define themselves as unable to find a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one.
    “Though, involuntary celibates (or incels) shouldn't try to rationalize a dateless season or pass off sexual awkwardness as virtue; […]”
    “It is not clear when the term incels was coined, but the link between misogyny and violence against women has emerged on sites where incel communities gather.”
    “The incel ideology has already inspired the murders of at least sixteen people. Elliot Rodger, in 2014, in Isla Vista, California, killed six and injured fourteen in an attempt to instigate a “War on Women” for “depriving me of sex.””
See all 5 definitions

noun

  1. (countable, uncountable)A member of an online subculture of people (mostly men) who define themselves as unable to find a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one.
    “Though, involuntary celibates (or incels) shouldn't try to rationalize a dateless season or pass off sexual awkwardness as virtue; […]”
    “It is not clear when the term incels was coined, but the link between misogyny and violence against women has emerged on sites where incel communities gather.”
    “The incel ideology has already inspired the murders of at least sixteen people. Elliot Rodger, in 2014, in Isla Vista, California, killed six and injured fourteen in an attempt to instigate a “War on Women” for “depriving me of sex.””
  2. (countable, uncountable)An individual who is not sexually active despite having such a desire.
    “Another study by Donnelly of seventy-seven incels in marriages or long-term relationships in the Journal of Marriage and Family used a web-based questionnaire to ask people why they stayed in their sexless relationships (defined in this case as no sex for six months).”
  3. (countable, derogatory, uncountable)A misogynistic man, with the implication that his misogyny makes him undesirable to potential partners, thus limiting his romantic and/or sexual prospects.
  4. (informal, uncountable)"Involuntary celibacy": the state of being not sexually active despite wishing to be.

adj

  1. (not-comparable)Not having sexual relations despite wishing to.
    “People who are 'incel' are often suspected as being gay. It's annoying.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

Blend of involuntary + celibate. Coined by "Alana" in 1997 on an online forum (originally as invcel). Came to widespread usage in the mid-2010s, chiefly online, but now more widespread.

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