incestuous
incestuous Lexical Profile
incestuous Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Involving or characterized by sexual relations between people who are too closely related to marry legally or according to social norms.
"The ancient royal dynasty was known for incestuous marriages intended to keep political power consolidated within the immediate family."
Excessively close, insular, and resistant to outside influence or new ideas (especially of a social group, organization, or professional circle).
"Critics argued that the local media landscape had become too incestuous, with the same small circle of commentators interviewing one another."
Word Nuance & Usage
In professional and social contexts, 'incestuous' is frequently used figuratively to criticize a group, organization, or industry for being overly insular and self-referential, without any implication of literal sexual relations.
• Rhymes for incestuous
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 16th century from Late Latin incestuosus, derived from Latin incestus ('unchaste, impure'), formed from the privative prefix in- ('not') and castus ('chaste, pure').