continuity
Americannoun
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the state or quality of being continuous.
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a continuous or connected whole.
- Synonyms:
- progression, flow
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a motion-picture scenario giving the complete action, scenes, etc., in detail and in the order in which they are to be shown on the screen.
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the spoken part of a radio or television script that serves as introductory or transitional material on a nondramatic program.
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Mathematics. the property of a continuous function.
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Usually continuities. sets of merchandise, as dinnerware or encyclopedias, given free or sold cheaply by a store to shoppers as a sales promotion.
noun
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logical sequence, cohesion, or connection
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a continuous or connected whole
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the comprehensive script or scenario of detail and movement in a film or broadcast
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the continuous projection of a film, using automatic rewind
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of continuity
1375–1425; late Middle English continuite < Anglo-French < Latin continuitās, equivalent to continu ( us ) continuous + -itās -ity
Explanation
Continuity has to do with how things happen over time: if there aren't any bumps or breaks and everything goes on continuously, then there's continuity. Continuity has to do with consistency. If you have the same Spanish teacher for several semesters, that's great continuity. If you have five different teachers in one year, that's awful continuity. In TV and movies, continuity involves keeping the plot and characters consistent from one scene to the next. It drives fans crazy when a character is allergic to peanuts in one episode, and then eats a peanut butter sandwich in the next one.
Vocabulary lists containing continuity
Lesson 2
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Vocabulary from the Wisdom and Work of Nadine Gordimer (1923-2014)
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AB Calculus
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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.
"This reveals deep evolutionary continuity in how complex societies are organized."
From Science Daily • May 31, 2026
The continuity of the bags, you have to make sure that they’re exactly the way they were for every take.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
It puts you in contact with the continuity of government systems—I would imagine the intelligence community and the Department of Defense.
From Slate • May 21, 2026
The Leeds Maternity Families Group said it was a hugely important time to have continuity for bereaved and harmed families.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
The world is coming at me in high-contrast snapshots, deprived of narrative continuity.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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.
