con·tin·u·ous   (kən-tĭn'yōō-əs)    adj.   Uninterrupted in time, sequence, substance, or extent. See Synonyms at continual. Attached together in repeated units: a continuous form fed into a printer. Mathematics Of or relating to a line or curve that extends without a break or irregularity. [From Latin continuus; see continue.] con·tin'u·ous·ly adv., con·tin'u·ous·ness n.

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.

he can hear its continuous murmur. --Longfellow.

2. (Bot.) Not deviating or varying from uninformity; not interrupted; not joined or articulated.

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.

Main Entry: con·tin·u·ous
Pronunciation: k&n-'tin-y&-w&s
Function: adjective
: marked by uninterrupted extension in space,time, or sequence : continuing without intermission or recurring regularly after minute interruptions <continuous expression of anxious feelings> <continuous vitamininjections> —con·tin·u·ous·ly adverb

continuous con·tin·u·ous (kən-tĭn'y&oomacr;-əs)
adj.

1. Uninterrupted in time, sequence, substance, or extent.
2. Attached together in repeated units.

continuous   (kən-tĭn'y-əs)  Pronunciation Key  Relating to a line or curve that extends without a break or irregularity. A function in which changes, however small, to any x-value result in small changes to the corresponding y-value, without sudden jumps. Technically, a function is continuous at the point c if it meets the following condition: for any positive number ε, however small, there exists a positive number δ such that for all x within the distance δ from c, the value of f(x) will be within the distance ε from f(c). Polynomials, exponential functions, and trigonometric functions are examples of continuous functions.