continually

adverb

con·​tin·​u·​al·​ly kən-ˈtin-yü-ə-lē 

-yə-lē

: in a continual manner : without stopping or interruption

a security system that runs continually

We had endured a series of dark, gloomy, winter days, during which the sun had been continually hidden behind dense, rain clouds.

—George Thatcher

… I was too thoroughly swept away by this richly imagined and continually surprising novel to be concerned with cute comparisons.

—Edan Lepucki

They bickered continually, ignoring me as I worked around them.

—Paula Fox

: in a constantly repeated manner : over and over

being interrupted continually

She would write. I would read and edit, and sometimes shift the wordings, or change phrases or delete things. We would continually refine what was written.

—Herbie Hancock

Synonyms

• again and again
• constantly
• frequently
• hourly
• much
• oft
• often
• oftentimes
• ofttimes
• over and over
• repeatedly

Examples of continually in a Sentence

grew up in a time when children were continually being told to mind their manners

the computer program continually updates the file with new information

Recent Examples on the Web

Walgreens has continually discounted a report in the Wall Street Journal last month that the pharmacy chain was in talks to sell itself to private equity firm Sycamore Partners. —Megan Poinski, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025

He’s continually kept Philipp Kurashev out of the lineup because he’s been a liability. —Scott Powers, The Athletic, 14 Jan. 2025

Back in 2019, Trump went on to lambaste California and Newsom for continually reaching out to Washington for aid to combat the fires. —USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2025

Buoyed by a weakening yuan, Chinese manufacturers managed to find buyers overseas in 2024 to compensate for depressed domestic demand by continually reducing prices, analysts said. —Reuters, CNN, 13 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English contynuely, from continuel continual + -ly -ly entry 2

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above