continuously
kuhn-TIHN-yoo-uhs-lee
Continuously (adverb) means Without any pause or break. Example: “The river flows continuously, even during the driest months.”
adverb
1
Without any pause or break.
"The river flows continuously, even during the driest months."
"George C. Edler (1889-1987) of Bethesda, MD kept a handwritten diary continuously from 20 Sep 1909, a total of 78 years."
— Peter Matthews, Norris McWhirter (editors) (1994)
"In the year 1633, the Bridget Nuns, near Xanthus, behaved like sheep, jumping about and bleating continuously."
— Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art (1936)
"The river continuously flows to the sea, it will never pause to let us cross on dry land."
"The alarm rang continuously until someone switched it off."
"He had worked continuously for six hours before taking a break."
How to use continuously
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishIn a way that never stops or breaks off.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
continuously monitored
run continuously
continuously updated
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Etymology
Formed from continuous plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.
Synonyms
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nonstop
unceasingly
uninterruptedly
constantly
ceaselessly
perpetually
unendingly
endlessly
incessantly
Antonyms
Related words
Rhymes for continuously
famously
anxiously
seriously
obviously
curiously
furiously
nervously
viciously
jealously
hideously
previously
vigorously
See all rhymes for continuously →
Frequently asked questions
What does “continuously” mean?
The word “continuously” means without any pause or break. In plain terms, in a way that never stops or breaks off.
How do you pronounce “continuously”?
“Continuously” is pronounced kuhn-TIHN-yoo-uhs-lee (/kənˈtɪnjuəsli/ in IPA).
How do you use “continuously” in a sentence?
Here is “continuously” used in a sentence: “The alarm rang continuously until someone switched it off.”
What is the opposite of “continuously”?
The opposite of “continuously” — its antonyms — is discontinuously.
What part of speech is “continuously”?
“Continuously” is an adverb.
Is “continuously” a common word?
“Continuously” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.
What is the difference between "continuously" and "continually"?
"Continuously" means happening without any pause or break, while "continually" describes something that happens repeatedly with gaps in between. Rain that falls continuously never stops, but rain that falls continually starts and stops throughout the day.
When should you use "continuously" instead of "constantly"?
Use "continuously" to stress an unbroken, uninterrupted flow of action or time, as in "the machine ran continuously for ten hours." "Constantly" can mean either unbroken or simply very frequent, so "continuously" is the clearer choice when you specifically mean that no break occurred.
What words commonly follow "continuously"?
"Continuously" often pairs with verbs describing ongoing processes, such as "running," "growing," "improving," "monitoring," and "updating." It also appears in fixed phrases like "continuously operating" and "continuously variable" to stress that the action never stops.
Is "continuously" formal or informal?
"Continuously" is neutral and works in both formal and informal writing, though it appears especially often in technical, scientific, and business contexts. It suits precise descriptions where the absence of any interruption matters.
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