CONTINUAL


Meaning of CONTINUAL in English

kənˈtinyəwəl, -yəl adjective

Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French continuel, from Latin continuus continuous + Middle French -el -al — more at continuous

1. : continuing in time : proceeding without stopping, interruption, or intermission : going on indefinitely — now used only of things

the continual dread of falling into poverty which haunts us all at present — G.B.Shaw

2. : recurring in steady and rapid succession : repeated at intervals with brief perhaps regular intermissions in time

continual storm … with frequent showers of snow — William Wordsworth

3. obsolete

a. : continuously acting or engaged : constant

b. of disease : chronic

c. : forming a continuous series or whole : unbroken

Synonyms:

continuous , constant , incessant , unremitting , perpetual , perennial : continual and continuous indicate lasting occurrence or presence over long periods

we live in a country where his Majesty's Cabinet governs subject to the continual superintendence, correction, and authority of Parliament — Sir Winston Churchill

the new struggle was continuous, the old had been sporadic — Lewis Mumford

continual is somewhat more common than continuous in describing intermittent action, but both words are well-established and satisfactory in this sense

the century and a half that followed the gathering of the estates at Westminster was a time of almost continual war — J.R.Green

continual and regular impulses of pleasurable surprise from the metrical arrangement — William Wordsworth

continuous landslides raised the cost of maintenance so high that a loss was sustained each year — American Guide Series: Connecticut

Unlike continual in this respect, continuous may apply to space as well as time

the continuous plains of the Great Lowland overlap from the Continental and Arctic drainage of the Heartland into the east of the European peninsula — H.J.Mackinder

constant strongly implies lasting steadiness, lack of change, or uniformity

unfortunately, perhaps, experience does not grow at a constant, but at an accelerated, rate — J.W.Krutch

personal goodness … of a very fitful cast — an occasional almost oppressive generosity rather than a mild and constant kindness — Thomas Hardy

incessant suggests virtually ceaseless uninterrupted activity

his incessant talking and shouting and bellowing of orders had been too much — Jack London

over that which we call the meaning of the words a poet uses, there goes on an incessant play of suggestion, caught from each user's own adventures among words — J.L.Lowes

unremitting indicates unceasing activity without slackening or halting

sporadic outbursts are converted by the rationalization into purposive and unremitting activity — Aldous Huxley

the men fifteen or twenty paces apart, all in concealment and under injunction of strict silence and unremitting vigilance — Ambrose Bierce

perpetual indicates lasting duration or unfailing repetition

sins unatoned for and uncondoned bring purgatorial or perpetual torment after death, even as holiness brings eternal bliss — H.O.Taylor

their heroic defense will be recorded for all time. It will be perpetual proof that democracy … can show the stuff of which it was made — F.D.Roosevelt

weary … of perpetual state business and perpetual honors; he wanted a rest — Robert Graves

perennial connotes either existence over a long period or certain recurrence

those who have lived before such terms as “highbrow fiction”, “thrillers”, and “detective fiction” were invented realize that melodrama is perennial — T.S.Eliot

to all who profess faith in the democratic ideal Jefferson is a perennial inspiration — V.L.Parrington

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.