Confusable words

continual vs continuous: what's the difference?

continual
adjective
vs
continuous
adjective
? ?

Continual and continuous both describe something ongoing, but one allows for breaks and the other does not.

Continual

adjective

Continual describes something that happens repeatedly, with pauses in between.

  • The continual interruptions made it hard to focus.
  • She's had continual problems with her car this year.

continual full definition →

Continuous

adjective

Continuous describes something that happens without any break or pause at all.

  • The continuous noise from the construction site never stopped.
  • We heard a continuous hum from the refrigerator.

continuous full definition →

Side by side

continual continuous
Pattern Repeated, with breaks Nonstop, no breaks
Example Continual complaints, on and off Continuous rain, never stops
Simple test Could you count separate occurrences? Is it one unbroken stretch?

Quick rule

Continual comes and goes, again and again. Continuous never stops at all. If you can count the interruptions, it's continual.

← See all confusable word pairs

Stop mixing them up.

Save both words to GoVocab and review them until they stick.

Download on the App Store