1.
[syn: continuous, uninterrupted]
2. of a function or curve; extending without break or irregularity;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.
[1913 Webster]
he can hear its continuous murmur. --Longfellow.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Bot.) Not deviating or varying from uninformity; not
interrupted; not joined or articulated.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
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: continuous,
uninterrupted] [ant: discontinuous, noncontinuous]
2: of a function or curve; extending without break or
irregularity [ant: discontinuous]