• 1-minute read
  • 9th May 2013

Word Choice: Continuously vs. Continually

It can be easy to mix up ‘continuously’ and ‘continually’ in your writing. As such, you should be careful about picking the right word. To help out, in this blog post, we explain the difference between these terms.

Continuously (Uninterrupted)

‘Continuously’ means ‘unceasingly’ or ‘uninterrupted’. For example:

My ears were ringing continuously because the music was so loud.

This word should therefore be used when something happens without interruption over a period of time.

Continually (At Frequent Intervals)

‘Continually’ means ‘regularly’ or ‘at frequent intervals’. For example:

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I don’t know why I continually attend loud concerts.

This is different to ‘continuously’, as it does not imply that something is happening without interruption.

If you are not confident about choosing the right words in your writing, you could submit your work to our proofreading service.

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