continuity

American  

[kon-tn-oo-i-tee, -tn-yoo] / ˌkɒn tnˈu ɪ ti, -tnˈju /

noun

continuities plural

1. the state or quality of being continuous.

2. a continuous or connected whole.

   Synonyms:

   progression, flow

3. 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.

4. the spoken part of a radio or television script that serves as introductory or transitional material on a nondramatic program.

5. Mathematics. the property of a continuous function.

6. Usually continuities. sets of merchandise, as dinnerware or encyclopedias, given free or sold cheaply by a store to shoppers as a sales promotion.

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continuity British  

/ ˌkɒntɪˈnjuːɪtɪ /

noun

1. logical sequence, cohesion, or connection

2. a continuous or connected whole

3. the comprehensive script or scenario of detail and movement in a film or broadcast

4. the continuous projection of a film, using automatic rewind

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncontinuity
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• continuities
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

continuity continuities

Delhi will be most concerned with continuity, with a focus on policy not personality.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

“The U.S. has, for a whole variety of reasons, never utilized a technical ‘dead man’s switch,'” historian Garrett Graff, an expert on continuity of government, told the Associated Press.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

Some academics would argue that, for a nation to claim continuity, a long history of mutually understandable language and a sense of national belonging are key.

From Slate ● Jul. 4, 2026

The farm survived all these years in part because of continuity: property rights, inheritance, tradition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 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

The museum has deconstructed the traditional, boxy narrative of art history and rendered the story itself a matter of curves and continuities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026

But by bringing his archaeological focus to bear on the question, Mr. Blair unearths some puzzling continuities and raises the stakes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025

And what I'm interested in, more broadly, is to emphasize these continuities.

From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2024

But Simon astutely observes that despite the heightened rhetoric, the surprising continuities between various administrations over the years outweigh the differences.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 20, 2023

In Love was concentrated all that emancipates man from the stubborn continuities of Nature.

From Robert Browning by Herford, C. H. (Charles Harold)

Related Words

• cohesion
• constancy
• continuum
• durability
• persistence
• stability
• stamina
• survival
• unity
• vitality