incel

See also: -incel

English

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.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɪnsɛl/, [ˈɪnˌsɛɫ]

  • Audio (RP)

    (file)

Noun

incel (countable and uncountable, plural incels)

1. 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.
   • 2004, Phineas Mollod & Jason Tesauro, The Modern Lover: A Playbook for Suitors, Spouses & Ringless Carousers, Ten Speed Press (2004), →ISBN, page 90:

     Though, involuntary celibates (or incels) shouldn't try to rationalize a dateless season or pass off sexual awkwardness as virtue; […]

   • 2017 November 9, Christine Hauser, “Reddit Bans ‘Incel’ Group for Inciting Violence Against Women”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:

     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.

   • 2018 May 15, Jia Tolentino, “The Rage of the Incels”, in The New Yorker‎^[3]:

     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.”

   • 2018 Alex Hern, Who are the 'incels' and how do they relate to Toronto van attack? The Guardian
2. (rare) Anyone who is not sexually active despite desiring to be.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:incel

   Antonym: volcel

   Hyponyms: AFChick, femcel

   • 2009, Luisa Dillner, Love by Numbers: The Hidden Facts Behind Everyone's Relationships, Profile Books (2009), →ISBN, page 153:

     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. (uncountable, seduction community, informal) "Involuntary celibacy": the state of not being sexually active despite wishing to be.

   Synonyms: incelibacy, love-shyness, fuckstration, AFCdom, AFCness

   (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

Adjective

incel (not comparable)

1. (seduction community) Not having sexual relations despite wishing to.

   Hypernym: love-shy

   • 2001 May 30, Gra - gra, “I love you!”, in alt.support.shyness, Usenet:

     People who are 'incel' are often suspected as being gay. It's annoying.

See also

• MGTOW (neologism)
• nice guy syndrome
• orbiter

Anagrams

• -cline, Cline, cline, incle

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English incel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪn.sɛl/
• Hyphenation: in‧cel

• audio

  (file)

Noun

incel m (plural incels)

1. (neologism) incel
   • 2018, Sacha Kester, Wie hoopt er op een ‘incel’-revolutie? Seksueel gefrustreerde mannen stoken elkaar op internet op, Volkskrant:

     De incels vinden dat de samenleving onaantrekkelijke, heteroseksuele mannen tekortdoet en hebben een hartgrondige hekel aan vrouwen.

     The incels believe that the society disadvantages unattractive, heterosexual and have a wholehearted hatred for women.

   • 2018, Frank Kuin, Moorden door gefrusteerde vrouwenhaters, NRC:

     Mannen die zichzelf identificeren als incels „kunnen geen seks krijgen, hoewel ze dat wel willen”, wordt uitgelegd op de website incels.me, een van de belangrijkste internetforums van de beweging, naast 4chan en Reddit.

     Men who identify themselves as incels „can't get sex, although they want to”, is explained on the website incels.me, one of the most important internet forums of the movement, alongside 4chan and Reddit.

   • 2018, Dirk Waterval, Ook Nederlandse mannen actief op forum voor radicale vrouwenhaters, Trouw:

     Sommigen dromen over een opstand waarin de incels seks met geweld afdwingen, anderen fantaseren eerder over massale schietpartijen als vergelding.

     Some dream of an uprising in which the incels enforce sex by force, others fantasize more about massive shootings as retaliation.

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Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English incel.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ĩ.ˈsɛw/
• Hyphenation: in‧cel

Noun

incel m, f (plural incels)

1. (neologism) incel