- 1happening or existing for a period of time without interruption Recovery after the accident will be a continuous process that may take several months. Stop smoking and you will see a continuous improvement in your health. She was in continuous employment until the age of sixty-five. The rain has been continuous since this morning.
- 2spreading in a line or over an area without any spaces a continuous line of traffic Rain was falling outside in a continuous silver curtain.
- 3(informal) repeated many times synonym continual For four days the town suffered continuous attacks. Continual is much more frequent in this meaning.
- 4(grammar) = progressive the continuous tenses
adverb He has lived and worked in France almost continuously since 1990. the continuously changing situation Heat the mixture until thickened, stirring continuously. Which Word?continuous / continualThese adjectives are frequently used with the following nouns:
| continuous ~ | continual ~ |
|---|---|
| process | change |
| employment | problems |
| flow | updating |
| line | questions |
| speech | pain |
| supply | fear |
- Continuous describes something that continues without stopping.
- Continual usually describes an action that is repeated again and again.
- The difference between these two words is now disappearing. In particular, continual can also mean the same as continuous and is used especially about undesirable things:Life was a continual struggle for them.However, continuous is much more frequent in this sense.
Check pronunciation: continuous