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.
Mobile targets like launchers, meanwhile, can be even harder to strike because they are small and continually reposition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
It ran for two years, after which Taylor worked almost continually in television and film.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
His opponent has put El-Sayed’s religion and ethnicity at the center of his attacks, yet El-Sayed is the one who’s continually asked to disavow bigotry.
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026
"The event team continually assessed the mountain weather forecast in the build-up to and throughout the event, with competitor safety guiding every decision," they added.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
We were not in this central zone, however, but at best on the edge of it, between it and the zone of turbulent, deflected, precipitation-laden storms that it sends continually to torment the subglacial lands.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
