Meaning & use
continuity
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Meanings
noununcountable
The state of carrying on without a break or sudden change.
Grammar: Uncountable: there is continuity in the policy.
Patterns
- continuity of something
- continuity between things
- ensure continuity
The new director promised continuity in the school's programs.
A familiar teacher gives children a sense of continuity.
The treaty provided continuity between the old and new governments.
noununcountablespecialist
In film and television, the matching of details across shots and scenes so the story looks seamless.
Grammar: Uncountable and often used in a technical way: a continuity error.
Patterns
- continuity error
- continuity editor
A continuity error showed the actor's coat changing color between shots.
The continuity supervisor checked every prop.
Fans spotted a continuity mistake in the final scene.
noununcountabletechnical
A written outline or script that links the parts of a radio or television show.
Grammar: In broadcasting: continuity announcer.
Patterns
- continuity announcer
The continuity announcer introduced the next program.
She wrote the continuity between segments.
Good continuity keeps the show smooth.
noununcountablemathematics
In mathematics, the property of a function with no sudden jumps or breaks.
Grammar: Used in calculus: continuity at a point.
Patterns
- continuity at a point
The graph shows continuity at every point.
Students learn to test the continuity of a function.
A jump in the graph breaks continuity.
Common combinations
- ensure continuity
- The handover notes ensure continuity of care.
- business continuity
- A business continuity plan covers power failures.
- continuity error
- There is a continuity error in the second scene.
- provide continuity
- Long-serving staff provide continuity.
- a sense of continuity
- Traditions give families a sense of continuity.
- lack of continuity
- A lack of continuity confused the patients.
Synonyms and how they differ
- consistency
- Consistency means staying the same in quality or behavior, while continuity means going on without interruption.
- persistence
- Persistence stresses stubbornly keeping going, but continuity is a neutral state of being unbroken.
- flow
- Flow is more informal and describes smooth movement of ideas or events.
- succession
- Succession suggests one thing following another in order, not necessarily without a break.
Opposites
Word family
- continue verb
- to go on
- continuous adjective
- without breaks
- continuum noun
- a range with no clear divisions
- discontinuity noun
- a break or gap
Commonly confused: continuity or continuum?
continuity vs continuum
A continuum is a range of values that blend into each other, while continuity is the unbroken quality of something.
Practice
Viewers spotted a ____ mistake when the hero's scarf was on in one shot and gone in the next.
Choose one answer.
A continuity mistake is a mismatch between shots. The other nouns do not describe film errors.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “continuity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.