continual

adjective con·tin·u·al \ kən-ˈtin-yü-əl , -yəl \

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

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Examples: continual in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of continual

1 : continuing indefinitely in time without interruption

continual fear

2 : recurring in steady usually rapid succession

a history of continual invasions

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continually

adverb

See continual defined for English-language learners

See continual defined for kids

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Examples of continual in a Sentence

This week we experienced days of continual sunshine.
The country has been in a continual state of war since it began fighting for its independence.
The continual interruptions by the student were annoying the teacher.

Recent Examples of continual from the Web

The company has built designated career paths into each position to ensure employees have continual opportunities for advancement.

— jessica levy, Cincinnati.com, "Medpace speeds the advancement of safe, effective medical therapeutics," 8 June 2018
Living next to the coast is heaven: the cool breezes, sunsets, and the continual change of the ocean are my Zen.

— lisa deaderick, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Carving out social and political commentary in bronze," 27 May 2018
And our very personable server didn’t seem to mind guiding the continual libation traffic.

— tim smith, baltimoresun.com, "Pairings Bistro in Bel Air delivers imaginative food and wine," 21 May 2018
The prosecution argued that the defense account was not credible since Captain Medina had been in continual radio contact with his platoons.

— richard goldstein, BostonGlobe.com, "Ernest Medina, 81, Army captain acquitted in My Lai Massacre," 14 May 2018
Snowmelt has, in fact, been in a continual decline, decreasing by 9 percent since 1906, according to the climate document.

— peter fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle, "Climate change ruining California’s environment, report warns," 9 May 2018
President Ojakian has threatened their livelihoods with his continual talk of closing community colleges.

— kathleen megan, courant.com, "Leaders Pushing Community College Merger Plan Forward Despite Accreditor's Rejection," 10 May 2018
Like consent itself, talking about BDSM play should be a continual conversation with frequent check-ins.

— jessica wakeman, Glamour, "Don't Use My Kink as a Cover for Your Abuse," 9 May 2018
Gender traitors and rebels are hanged on the wall, a continual threat that any deviance from Gilead will not be tolerated.

— refinery29.com, "The Real-Life Origins Of The Rites & Rituals Seen In The Handmaid's Tale," 9 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'continual.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Since the mid-19th century, many grammarians have drawn a distinction between continual and continuous. Continual should only mean "occurring at regular intervals," they insist, whereas continuous should be used to mean "continuing without interruption." This distinction overlooks the fact that continual is the older word and was used with both meanings for centuries before continuous appeared on the scene. The prescribed sense of continuous became established only in the 19th century, and it never succeeded in completely driving out the equivalent sense of continual. Today, continual is the more likely of the two to mean "recurring," but it also continues to be used, as it has been since the 14th century, with the meaning "continuing without interruption."

Origin and Etymology of continual

Middle English, from Anglo-French continuel, from Latin continuus continuous

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First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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continual Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of continual

continual, continuous, constant, incessant, perpetual, perennial mean characterized by continued occurrence or recurrence. continual often implies a close prolonged succession or recurrence.