Meaning & use
continually
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Meanings
adverbnot comparable
Again and again over a period of time, often in an annoying way, with short gaps between.
Grammar: Goes before the verb or at the end: he continually interrupts.
Patterns
- continually do something
- keep continually doing something
The neighbors continually play loud music late at night.
She was continually interrupted during the meeting.
The website is continually updated with fresh news.
adverbnot comparable
Always happening or developing without ending.
Grammar: Used with change or improve: continually changing.
Patterns
- continually changing
- continually improving
The city is continually changing as new buildings go up.
We are continually looking for ways to improve.
The software is continually evolving.
Common combinations
- continually changing
- Fashion is continually changing.
- continually evolving
- The language is continually evolving.
- continually improve
- We strive to continually improve.
- continually interrupted
- The speaker was continually interrupted by phones.
- continually asking
- The toddler was continually asking why.
Synonyms and how they differ
- constantly
- Constantly is nearly the same and a little stronger, stressing that the repetition hardly stops.
- repeatedly
- Repeatedly emphasizes the count of occurrences and not the feeling of nonstop activity.
- regularly
- Regularly suggests a steady schedule, but continually suggests frequent and sometimes irritating repetition.
- incessantly
- Incessantly is more intense and suggests something that goes on without a break and tires you out.
Opposites
Word family
- continual adjective
- repeated frequently
- continue verb
- to go on
- continuous adjective
- without a break
- continuously adverb
- without any pause
Commonly confused: continually or continuously?
continually vs continuously
Continuously means without any break at all, such as rain falling continuously for three hours. Continually allows short pauses and means repeated.
Practice
The phone rang ____ all morning, with a few seconds of quiet between each call.
Choose one answer.
Continually fits repeated calls with gaps. Continuously would mean no break at all, which the pauses rule out.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “continually”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.