continual

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

|Updated on: 6 Aug 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

Grassland would likely need continual help pushing out invasive species, says Rebecca Swab, director of restoration ecology at a private Ohio conservation park called The Wilds.

— leslie nemo, Scientific American, "From Defiled to Wild—Can a Spent Coal Mine Be Reborn as a Nature Conservation Center?," 11 July 2018
Stark’s words led to continual protests and debates over gay conversion therapy and ultimately helped shut down Refuge.

— stephen daw, Billboard, "Chloe Grace Moretz Rebels Through Conversion Therapy in 'The Miseducation of Cameron Post' Trailer," 10 July 2018
The move reflects the difficulty that a stand-alone brand faces today in a global marketplace, with its continual pressure for technological innovation and growth.

— New York Times, "Dries Van Noten Sells Majority Stake to Puig," 14 June 2018
But this continual metamorphosis also creates a sense of nostalgia.

— andrew webster, The Verge, "Octopath Traveler is a modern take on classic Final Fantasy on the Nintendo Switch," 12 July 2018
One reason is his continual need to scale up—to keep getting bigger at the fastest possible rate.

— sam tanenhaus, Town & Country, "Can Chris Whittle Launch a Truly Global School?," 10 July 2018
Lifeguards undergo continual drills and physical and medical training, learning how to use rescue boards, how to judge wave and beach conditions.

— meredith colias-pete, Post-Tribune, "More than just a day at the beach, lifeguards train to save lives," 10 July 2018
As smartphone makers work to maximize screen space on the front of the phone, there is a continual question of what to do with the front-facing camera.

— ron amadeo, Ars Technica, "Vivo will actually sell a smartphone with a pop-up front camera," 13 June 2018
Another woman was diagnosed with dementia and needed continual cleaning and care.

— kelsey mo, azcentral, "2 suspected of abusing disabled adults in El Mirage unlicensed care facility," 2 July 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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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.