continually
Americanadverb
-
very often; at regular or frequent intervals; habitually.
-
without cessation or intermission; unceasingly; always.
Commonly Confused
See continual.
Etymology
Origin of continually
First recorded in 1175–1225, continually is from the Middle English word continuelli, continueliche; see continual, -ly
Explanation
When you do something continually, you do it over and over again. If you keep checking your email to see if you've gotten an important message, you can say you check it continually. The adverb continually is good for describing something you do repeatedly, or on a regular basis. Your little brother, for example, might complain continually that he's hungry for ice cream. The word continuously is easy to confuse with continually — when you do something continually, you take breaks in between, but when you do it continuously, you don't stop at all. Both come from a Latin root, continuare, or "join together."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But the new facilities increasingly use closed-loop liquid cooling, which continually recirculates coolant instead.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
That would come at a cost: Refined products can degrade and must be continually replaced.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Common letters can certainly be useful, but the mathematical approach continually adjusts its choices based on what has already been learned.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
As the team works within it and the clothes move through the space, the store becomes a backdrop that is never quite fixed, but continually responding to the world being built around it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
“I sought every opportunity to be at her side, and continually plied her with questions. I had never heard a woman talk what...I had scarcely dared to think.”
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
