What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Continental vs Continuous - What's the difference?

continental | continuous |

As adjectives the difference between continental and continuous

is that continental is of or relating to a continent or continents while continuous is without break, cessation, or interruption; without intervening time.

As a noun continental

is someone from "the continent".

continental

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Of or relating to a continent or continents.
  • :
  • *(Henry Hallam) (1777-1859)
  • *:No former king had involved himself so frequently in the labyrinth of continental alliances.
  • In the main part of a country or region, as opposed to on one of its islands.
  • :
  • Characteristic of the style of continental Europe, as opposed to British.
  • :
  • *
  • *:“My Continental prominence is improving,” I commented dryly. ¶ Von Lindowe cut at a furze bush with his silver-mounted rattan. ¶ “Quite so,” he said as dryly, his hand at his mustache. “I may say if your intentions were known your life would not be worth a curse.”
  • Of or relating to the confederated colonies collectively, in the time of the Revolutionary War.
  • :
  • Synonyms

    * (in the main part of a country or region, as opposed to on one of its islands ): mainland * (characteristic of the style of continental Europe ) European

    Antonyms

    * (characteristic of the style of continental Europe ): British, English

    Derived terms

    * continental breakfast * continental drift * continental plate * continental quilt * continental shelf * continental slope

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Someone from "the continent".
  • (US History) A member of the Continental army.
  • (US History) Paper scrip (paper money) issued by the continental congress, largely worthless by the end of the war (hence the expression "not worth a continental")
  • ----

    continuous

    English

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Without break, cessation, or interruption; without intervening time.
  • a continuous current of electricity
  • * 1847 , , Ticknor and Fields (1854), page 90:
  • he can hear its continuous murmur
  • Without intervening space; continued; protracted; extended.
  • a continuous line of railroad
  • (botany) Not deviating or varying from uniformity; not interrupted; not joined or articulated.
  • (analysis, of a function) Such that, for every x'' in the domain, for each small open interval ''D'' about ''f''(''x''), there's an interval containing ''x'' whose image is in ''D .
  • (mathematics, more generally, of a function) Such that each open set in the range has an open preimage.
  • Each continuous function from the real line to the rationals is constant, since the rationals are totally disconnected.
  • (grammar) Expressing an ongoing action or state.
  • Usage notes

    *

    Synonyms

    * (without break, cessation, or interruption in time''): constant, continual (''but see usage notes above ), incessant, never-ending, ongoing, unbroken, unceasing, unending, uninterrupted * (without break, cessation, or interruption in space ): connected, unbroken * See also

    Antonyms

    * (without break, cessation, or interruption in time ): broken, discontinuous, discrete, intermittent, interrupted * (without break, cessation, or interruption in space ): broken, disconnected, disjoint, unbroken * (in mathematical analysis ): discontinuous, stepwise

    Derived terms

    * continuous brake * continuous impost * continuously * continuousness (in mathematics) * continuous distribution * continuous function * continuous group * continuous line illusion * continuous map * continuous mapping theorem * continuous space * continuous vector bundle * continuously differentiable function * uniformly continuous

    See also

    * constant * contiguous

    References