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Continuous - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Continuous : adj
1: continuing in time or space without interruption; "a
continuous rearrangement of electrons in the solar
atoms results in the emission of light"- James Jeans;
"a continuous bout of illness lasting six months";
"lived in continuous fear"; "a continuous row of
warehouses"; "a continuous line has no gaps or breaks
in it"; "moving midweek holidays to the nearest Monday
or Friday allows uninterrupted work weeks" [syn: uninterrupted]
[ant: discontinuous]
2: of a function or curve; extending without break or
irregularity [ant: discontinuous]
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Continuous : \Con*tin"u*ous\, a. [L. continuus, fr. continere to
hold together. See Continent.]
1. Without break, cessation, or interruption; without
intervening space or time; uninterrupted; unbroken;
continual; unceasing; constant; continued; protracted;
extended; as, a continuous line of railroad; a continuous
current of electricity.
he can hear its continuous murmur. --Longfellow.
2. (Bot.) Not deviating or varying from uninformity; not
interrupted; not joined or articulated.
Continuous brake (Railroad), a brake which is attached to
each car a train, and can be caused to operate in all the
cars simultaneously from a point on any car or on the
engine.
Continuous impost. See Impost.
Syn: Continuous, Continual.
Usage: Continuous is the stronger word, and denotes that the
continuity or union of parts is absolute and
uninterrupted; as, a continuous sheet of ice; a
continuous flow of water or of argument. So Daniel
Webster speaks of ``a continuous and unbroken strain
of the martial airs of England.'' Continual, in most
cases, marks a close and unbroken succession of
things, rather than absolute continuity. Thus we speak
of continual showers, implying a repetition with
occasional interruptions; we speak of a person as
liable to continual calls, or as subject to continual
applications for aid, etc. See Constant.
Based on WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003)
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