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.
They then used 24 estimates of the world population stretching across the past 2,000 years to show that human numbers have in fact continually outpaced expectations.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
Then continually measure success against economic performance and the health, safety and environmental outcomes regulation is supposed to improve.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
“Kaiser Permanente continually evaluates how we organize our work and deploy resources to help ensure high-quality care remains affordable and accessible for our members and patients,” the health plan said Tuesday in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
"This builds on our commitment and core objective to continually enhance our robust safety tools to protect teens," the spokesperson added.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
One of the husbands, possibly incited by the vicar, continually laid small charges against Norwood in court, causing him much exasperation and necessitating repeated trips across Bermuda to defend himself.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
