continual
See also: continuous#Usage notes
English
Alternative forms
- continuall (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English continuel, borrowed from Old French continuel, formed from Latin continuus (“continuous”) with the suffix -el.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kənˈtɪnjuəl/
Audio (US) (file) - Hyphenation: con‧tin‧u‧al
Adjective
continual (not comparable)
- Recurring in steady, rapid succession.
- (proscribed) Seemingly continuous; appearing to have no end or interruption.
- (proscribed) Forming a continuous series.
Usage notes
In careful usage, continual refers to repeated actions “continual objections”, while continuous refers to uninterrupted actions or objects “continuous flow”, “played music continuously from dusk to dawn”.[1] However, this distinction is not observed in informal usage, a noted example being the magic spell name “continual light” (unbroken light), in the game Dungeons & Dragons.
Related terms
- continuance
- continuation
- continue
- continuous
- continuum
Translations
appearing to have no end or interruption
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recurring in steady, rapid succession
forming a continuous series
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
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References
- “continual” in Paul Brians, Common Errors in English Usage, 2nd rev. and exp. edition, Wilsonville, Or.: William, James & Company, 2009, →ISBN.
Further reading
- continual in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- continual in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Anagrams
- inoculant