noun

• 1Sexual relations between people classed as being too closely related to marry each other.

  ‘The theme of incest and sexual abuse is, unfortunately, a common one throughout the book.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘There are also scenes of fighting, murder, incest, oral sex and cross-dressing.’
  • ‘These are prescribed in cases of rape or incest as well as contraceptive failure.’
  • ‘Does it rest on the same fascination with incest and necrophilia as the original?’
  • ‘The novel breaks down the taboos and barriers against openly discussing incest and sexual abuse.’
  • ‘There would, of course, be none of the health concerns normally related to incest.’
  • ‘We find that the sexual aspect of incest does not seem to be what attracts him to the act.’
  • ‘It's not a book about incest - it's about something that is less than love.’
  • ‘The incest taboo means the absolute prohibition upon sexual relations between people related by blood.’
  • ‘They deal with infidelity, infertility and incest, as well as sacrifice and death.’
  • ‘Many girls and boys become involved in the sex trade because of family abuse - violence and incest at home drive them out onto the street.’
  • ‘Knowing incest is an ‘unclean’ act heightens the awareness of the taboo she is violating.’
  • ‘In fact, historical accounts of that culture and time would suggest that, in those overcrowded conditions, incest was extremely common.’
  • ‘Now, emperor is a royal title, bringing to mind divine bloodlines, elaborate coronations and incest.’
  • ‘We respond to Oedipus' plight, which includes his own feelings of repulsion about incest, an evaluation which we may share.’
  • ‘None of the postwar psychoanalysts stated why they chose to investigate father-daughter incest.’
  • ‘All this raises the additional question of incest.’
  • ‘That means that we are a bit of a village here in New Zealand, because of our population base, so the chances of accidental incest are increased.’
  • ‘She told fans she turned down the role because she felt uncomfortable with a storyline featuring incest.’
  • ‘She made public her secret story as a victim of incest.’

  1. 1.1The crime of having sexual intercourse with a parent, child, sibling, or grandchild.
     ‘Sexual crimes include all forms of adultery and incest.’
     More example sentences

     • ‘At the moment, incest covers not simply sexual intercourse but any form of sexual connection.’
     • ‘As a result, rape in the home, with the exception of incest, is almost never punished.’
     • ‘This is when both rape and incest were declared as criminal offences with maximum punishment in 1995.’
     • ‘There are other justifications for incest laws that might be more compelling.’
     • ‘Rape, incest, and maltreatment are the crimes dealt with in this study.’
     • ‘Why don't we say and do something about escalating gross sexual crimes such as rape, child rape and incest?’
     • ‘Six executions of men convicted of incest have taken place since 1998.’
     • ‘Ryan was arrested last month on suspicion of harassment after making accusations of incest.’
     • ‘Men convicted of incest are dragged across the village in a shaming procession.’
     • ‘He said many cases of incest and sexual abuse remain unreported and barely half of the reported cases make it through the court system.’
     • ‘There were no significant differences between child molesters and incest offenders.’
     • ‘A husband and wife have each been sentenced to five years jail for what's been described as one of the worst cases of incest in this country.’
     • ‘He was acquitted on both those counts, also attempted rape, also incest, but was found guilty of attempted incest.’
     • ‘Such a reading would throw laws against fornication, adultery, and even adult incest into question.’
     • ‘However, rape, sexual violation, and incest are not crimes that are now quaintly foreign or out of date in Aotearoa today, alas.’
     • ‘Maswana said rape, incest, abduction and indecent assault were the most commonly reported offences in this area.’
     • ‘Fairstein is credited with changing the way crimes like rape and incest were handled by the judicial system.’
     • ‘Punishment for adultery, incest, rape and carnal knowledge was death.’