incest
in·cest/ˈɪn.sɛst/noun, verb
incest is spelled I-N-C-E-S-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables (in·cest). It appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 18,064th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, incest means “Sexual relations between close relatives, especially immediate family members and sometimes first cousins, usually considered taboo” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of incest is incests.
How many letters and syllables are in incest?
| Letters | 6: I-N-C-E-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: in·cest |
| In writing | 2.3 times per million words; the 18,064th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is incest?
Incest appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 18,064th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce incest?
- /ˈɪn.sɛst/
Incest has 2 syllables, split in·cest in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-incest.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with incest?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as incest.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: insect, scient.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of incest
- incests plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- incesting participle, present
- incested participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does incest mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Sexual relations between close relatives, especially immediate family members and sometimes first cousins, usually considered taboo.
Genetic problems caused by incest are thought to have plagued many royal families in the Middle Ages.
- 2
Romantic relationships between close relatives, also widely taboo.
verb
- 1
To engage in incestuous sexual activities.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Incest in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense sexual relations between close relatives:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does incest come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin incestus. Displaced Old English mǣġhǣmed (literally “relative-sex”). Doublet of inchaste.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).