Revised as of 9 April 2021
This wasn’t an error I came across, but a question I had for myself. Naturally, I had to explore it.
While continuous and continual are fairly similar — they both roughly mean without interruption, it’s the finer distinctions that separate them.
Continual is frequent events but with intervals in between.
Continuous can refer to space and time and is used more frequently.
Word Confusions…
…started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noir for you from either end. Consider sharing this Word Confusion with friends by tweeting it.
| Continual | Continuous |
|---|---|
| Credit to: Apple Dictionary.com | |
Milking a Cow in the Past by and uploaded by Saintswithin at English Wikipedia is in the public domain and was transferred to Wikimedia Commons. — While milking by hand is old-fashioned, cows still need to be milked at continual intervals. |
City of Dubai at Night by the NASA Expedition 20 crew and is from the NASA Earth Observatory. It is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — Vapor lights form a continuous line along the coastline. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective | Adjective |
| Frequently recurring
Always happening
|
Forming an unbroken whole
Without interruption
[Grammar] Another term that describes the progressive verb |
| Examples: | |
| His plane went down after continual attacks.
Some patients need continual safeguarding. Service was disrupted with continual breakdowns. The country has been in a continual state of war since it began fighting for its independence. The continual interruptions by the student were annoying the teacher. |
The whole performance is enacted in one continuous movement.
There are continuous advances in design and production. The present continuous is an indicative verb that emphasizes the continuing or progressive nature of an incomplete act, event, or condition. A continuous function with a continuous inverse function is called a homeomorphism. The development forms a continuous line all around the bay. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: quasi-continual, uncontinual
Adverb: continually, quasi-continually, uncontinually Noun: continuality, continualness |
Adjective: noncontinuous
Adverb: continuously, noncontinuously Noun: continuousness, noncontinuousness |
| History of the Word: | |
| Middle English from the Old French continuel, from continuer meaning continue, which is from the Latin continuare, which is itself from continuus. | Mid-17th century from the Latin continuus meaning uninterrupted, which is from continere meaning hang together (from con- (together with) + tenere (hold) + -ous. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan…which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them…and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Pinterest Photo Credits
The Hart Bridge, Jacksonville, Florida, is Excel23‘s own work under the CC0 license, via Wikimedia Commons, and Vintage Mickey Mouse Manual-Wind Alarm Clock By Bradley Time, <https://visualhunt.com/photo/232647/>, by France1978 is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via VisualHunt.
