continuously
kuhn-TIN-yoo-uhs-lee
/kənˈtɪnjuəsli/
In a way that is unbroken or without interruption.
Used to describe actions that do not pause for a single second.
The story behind the word. The adverbial form of 'continuous', maintaining the Latin sense of 'holding together'.
Word relationships
- nonstop: Nonstop is more informal and often used for travel.
- intermittently: Intermittently means with breaks.
Commonly confused with
- continually: Continuously is a steady stream; continually is a series of pulses.
Word family
- continuous (adjective): Unbroken.
Collocations
- flow continuously
- monitor continuously
- operate continuously
Example sentences
- "The river flows continuously into the sea, never pausing for the seasons." Describing a natural process.
- "The server has been running continuously for three years without a reboot." Describing a technical state.
Memory hook
Think of the 'S' in continuously as a 'Stream'. A flowing stream.
When not to use
Avoid if the action has breaks, such as 'He continuously checked his phone' (unless he literally never looked away for hours). Use 'continually' instead.
Fun facts
- In the 19th century, 'continuously' was often used where we would now use 'continually', but the distinction became more rigid in the 20th century.
Related words
Explore more words
unbroken, seamless, successive, sustained, incessant, around the clock
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