incessantly
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of incessantly
Explanation
Use the adverb incessantly to describe an action that continues or repeats without interruption. The neighbor's dog might bark incessantly in the morning, causing you to complain incessantly about the noise. The word incessantly usually indicates that there's something slightly irritating about whatever is happening. The person sitting next to you at the library might be incessantly drumming her fingers on the table. Your little sister might be incessantly singing Disney songs during a long car ride. On the other hand, incessantly can have a more positive meaning, indicating determination or drive. If you work incessantly to prepare for a big presentation, that’s a good thing!
Vocabulary lists containing incessantly
Fahrenheit 451
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Metamorphosis
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The Alchemist
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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.
She texts incessantly - sometimes sending more than 100 messages a day - while he prefers to speak on the phone, or in person.
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026
The Wonderful Company, the corporate arm of Beverly Hills billionaires Stewart and Lynda Resnick, promotes itself incessantly as an exemplar of social responsibility and a guardian of sustainable agriculture.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026
I spent days pressing a light-up toy when we said his name to draw his attention and babbled incessantly in his face so he could copy my lip patterns.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025
He set up his home-based takeaway, named Africana Chops, in 2022, after being incessantly asked by his St Lucian friends for Nigerian fare.
From BBC • Aug. 17, 2025
Darwin wondered incessantly about a mechanism of heredity that could achieve these counterbalanced properties.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
