continual
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continual
con·tin·u·al
(kən-tĭn′yo͞o-əl)These adjectives mean occurring without stopping or occurring repeatedly over a long period of time. Continual is often restricted to what is intermittent or repeated at intervals: The continual banging of the shutter in the wind gave me a headache. But it can also imply a lack of interruption, the focus of continuous and ceaseless: The fugitive was living in a state of continual fear. The police put the house under continuous surveillance. We listened to the ceaseless babble of the stream. Constant stresses steadiness or persistence and unvarying nature: The constant ticking of the clock lulled him to sleep. Incessant adds to constant the suggestion of annoying repetition: The dog's incessant barking kept him up all night. Perpetual emphasizes both steadiness and duration: One side of the moon is in perpetual darkness. Eternal refers to what is everlasting, especially to what is seemingly without temporal beginning or end: "That freedom can be retained only by the eternal vigilance which has always been its price" (Elmer Davis).
Perennial describes existence that goes on year after year, often with the suggestion of self-renewal: The candidates discussed the perennial problem of urban poverty.
continual
(kənˈtɪnjʊəl)con•tin•u•al
(kənˈtɪn yu əl)adj.
constant
continual continuousYou can use constant, continual, and continuous to describe things that happen or exist without stopping.
You describe something as constant when it happens all the time or never goes away.
Continual is usually used to describe something that happens often over a period of time. If something is continuous, it happens all the time without stopping, or seems to do so. For example, if you say 'There was continual rain', you mean that it rained often. If you say 'There was continuous rain', you mean that it did not stop raining.
Continual can only be used in front of a noun. Don't use it after a verb. Continuous can be used either in front of a noun or after a linking verb.
If you are describing something undesirable which continues to happen or exist without stopping, it is better to use continual rather than continuous.
If you are describing something undesirable which continues to happen or exist without stopping, it is better to use continual rather than continuous.
Adj. | 1. | continual - occurring without interruption; chiefly restricted to what recurs regularly or frequently in a prolonged and closely spaced series; "the continual banging of the shutters" sporadic - recurring in scattered and irregular or unpredictable instances; "a city subjected to sporadic bombing raids" |
2. | continual - `continual' (meaning seemingly uninterrupted) is often used interchangeably with `continuous' (meaning without interruption) continuous, uninterrupted - continuing in time or space without interruption; "a continuous rearrangement of electrons in the solar atoms results in the emission of light"- James Jeans; "a continuous bout of illness lasting six months"; "lived in continuous fear"; "a continuous row of warehouses"; "a continuous line has no gaps or breaks in it"; "moving midweek holidays to the nearest Monday or Friday allows uninterrupted work weeks" |
continual
constant broken, interrupted, erratic, fluctuating
frequent occasional, irregular, periodic, sporadic, intermittent, infrequent, spasmodic
continual
adjectivecontinual
[kənˈtɪnjʊəl] adj [use] → continuel(le); [process, improvement] → continuel(le); [pressure, demands, pain] → continuel(le)continual
continual
[kənˈtɪnjʊəl] adj → continuo/acontinue
(kənˈtinjuː) verbcontinuous means non-stop, without interruption.