continuum

[kuhn-tin-yoo-uhm]

noun

plural

continua 

1. a continuous extent, series, or whole.

2. Mathematics.

   1. a set of elements such that between any two of them there is a third element.

   2. the set of all real numbers.

   3. any compact, connected set containing at least two elements.

continuum

/ kənˈtɪnjʊəm /

noun

1. a continuous series or whole, no part of which is perceptibly different from the adjacent parts

Word History and Origins

Origin of continuum¹

1640–50; < Latin, noun use of neuter of continuus continuous

Word History and Origins

Origin of continuum¹

C17: from Latin, neuter of continuus _continuous

Example Sentences

“I view what’s happening today as part of a continuum,” Gould told me this week.

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If we’re to figure out how to meet this moment, we need to explore the full continuum of protest ideas and, in doing so, sustain our republic.

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But they occupy points on the same impossible continuum, issuing from the same source: lawmakers stripping autonomy from those whose identities, priorities and values don’t align with their own.

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“We have a continuum of activity, some of which we rightfully tolerate, such as boisterous and passionate protests,” said Brian Levin, a professor emeritus at Cal State San Bernardino and an expert on extremism.

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“You can look at anybody in the world and we all fall within that continuum,” Kaufman reflected with somber acceptance.

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Related Words

• continuity