EXPLANATORY NOTES

Continual adj. Going on all the time without stopping, or with only short breaks; very frequent; happening over and over again; going on in rapid succession, e.g. ~ rain, ~ arguments, ~ presence, a ~ dream, a ~ effort, ~ parties, ~ consultations; ~ progress, ~ growth, ~ fear, ~ bouts of toothache.

Derivative: continually adv.

Continuous adj. Going on without a break; connected, unbroken; uninterrupted in time or sequence, e.g. a ~ expanse, ~ struggle, a ~ siege of six months; a ~ conveyor, a ~ line, ~ coughing, a ~ show, a ~ voyage, a ~ madness, ~ roaring, ~ production, ~ service.

Derivative: continuously adv.

The adjectives continual and continuous as well as the adverbs continually and continuously are often confused because of the similarity of their meanings. Continual applies to that which recurs repeatedly or goes on unceasingly over a long period of time. As applied to objects in the singular, continual also stresses the idea of going on indefinitely (though not without interruptions) in time rather than (like continuous) that of unbroken connection or substance. Continuous applies to that which extends without interruption. Continual refers only to time, continuous both to time and space, e.g. a continual (or continuous) noise; a continuous (not continual) expanse. The Russian equivalents of these adjectives are very much alike: continual непрерывный, почти не прекращающийся, повторяющийся снова и снова; continuous непрерывный, непрекращающийся, длительный. The adverbs continually and continuously derived from the adjectives continual and continuous reflect, on the whole, the basic meanings of the latter: continually means again and again; very frequently; repeatedly and often without stopping (неоднократно, снова и снова; непрерывно, все время); continuously means uninterruptedly, without a break (непрерывно, постоянно),