Continual

kənˈtɪnjuəl

adjectiveIntermediate📊CommonGeneral
1 meaning3 questions

Definitions

1

Happening frequently or repeatedly over a period of time; constant or very frequent.

kənˈtɪnjuəl

adjectiveneutralIntermediate
General

Happening frequently or repeatedly.

The continual noise from the construction site made it difficult to sleep.

💡 Simply: Imagine a leaky faucet that keeps dripping, drip, drip, drip! That's continual. It means something happens over and over again.

👶 For kids: Happening again and again, like when you keep saying 'please'!

More Examples

2

She faced continual challenges in her new job.

3

The company experienced continual growth during the past decade.

How It's Used

General

"The continual rain made the roads muddy."

News

"There were continual protests against the new policy."

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

From Middle French continuel, from Latin continuus ('continuous, uninterrupted').

Used in literature and legal documents to describe frequent occurrences or ongoing situations since the 16th century.

Memory tip

Think of a 'continuous' action that is happening a lot, like a train continually moving.

Word Origin

LanguageLatin
Original meaning

"to continue, to hold together"

continual problemscontinual noisecontinual interruptionscontinual effortscontinual improvement

Common misspellings

continuellycontiniualcontineual

Usage

40%Spoken
60%Written