as in mainland
one of the great divisions of land on the globe or the main part of such a division
Europe and Asia are sometimes considered together to be one continent
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in ascetical
given to or marked by restraint in the satisfaction of one's appetites
a religious sect that expects its unmarried members to be completely celibate and its married adherents to maintain continent relationships
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of continent
Laura Poppick, Rolling Stone, 30 June 2025
The author is not the first scholar to tackle the history of America—as in the American continent, not just the United States (which keeps trying to hoard the name for itself).
—Carolina A. Miranda, The Atlantic, 30 June 2025
Hannah Oh, Seventeen, 23 Jan. 2023
The resilient East African nation has rebounded over the past three decades; so, too, has its lion population, via a cross-continent initiative led by AndBeyond, African Parks and the Rwanda Development Board.
—Stephanie Vermillion, Robb Report, 3 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for continent
Noun
Federal agencies hired geologists to scour continents for oil, gas, and coal to fuel those economies, along with metals like iron and uranium to build up arsenals of defense.
—Laura Poppick, Rolling Stone, 30 June 2025
The author is not the first scholar to tackle the history of America—as in the American continent, not just the United States (which keeps trying to hoard the name for itself).
—Carolina A. Miranda, The Atlantic, 30 June 2025
Adjective
The singer spent the past year flying around the world for her multi-continent Future Nostalgia tour and continued her jet-setting this past week with a trip to Groningen, Netherlands.
—Hannah Oh, Seventeen, 23 Jan. 2023
The resilient East African nation has rebounded over the past three decades; so, too, has its lion population, via a cross-continent initiative led by AndBeyond, African Parks and the Rwanda Development Board.
—Stephanie Vermillion, Robb Report, 3 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for continent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for continent
Noun
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The beach resort is based on the island of Zanzibar, off the Indian Ocean coast of mainland Tanzania.—
Heather Richardson,
Travel + Leisure,
8 July 2025
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Roughly the same number of men were forced to spend the storm inside the Adler Planetarium when high waves made the causeway between it and the mainland impassable.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
7 July 2025
Adjective
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Located on the North Island near the Manawatū River, Palmerston (Palmy, colloquially) is representative of many cities around the world, with a largely temperate climate and a population of around 91,000 residents.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
7 May 2025
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Today, these ants primarily live in undisturbed and temperate eastern North American forests.—
Lauren Thomann,
Better Homes & Gardens,
9 May 2025
Adjective
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But Pascal, for all the twinkle in his eye, often plays relatively sexless characters — from the fatherly energy of The Last of Us to the ascetic qualities of The Mandalorian.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
EW.com,
9 June 2025
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Meanwhile, narratives of Ayyappan usually describe him as a god raised as a human prince who becomes a warrior and finally an ascetic.—
Deepa Das Acevedo,
Foreign Affairs,
4 Apr. 2019
Adjective
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Some have evolved exceedingly specific diets—diets that would put even the most abstemious human to shame.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
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The solution offered up by some: the sort of abstemious, low-fat, often vegetarian, diets that had been prescribed as lust-control regimens only decades earlier.—
Rachel Hope Cleves / Made by History,
TIME,
14 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Continent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/continent. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
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