continental
/ˌkɑntɪˈnɛntl̩/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.02 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of or relating to a continent or continents.
adj
Of the mainland, as opposed to an island offshore.
adj
Relating to, or characteristic of, continental Europe.
adj
Of or relating to the confederated colonies collectively, in the time of the Revolutionary War.
American usage
noun
Paper scrip (paper money) issued by the continental congress, largely worthless by the end of the war.
American usage
Example Sentences
- "continental drift"
- "Offshore to the west of the continental margin during the Early Triassic, the Sonoma highlands formed a volcanic island arc, separated from the mainland by a shallow sea that cut through western Nevada and northwestern Utah."
- "No former king had involved himself so frequently in the labyrinth of continental alliances."
- "continental Europe"
- "The outline of continental Ireland is proximately that of a rhomboid ; and, in a general view, is greatly more continuous or less indented and undulated by cuts and sweeps of the sea than the outline of continental Great Britain."
- "continental breakfast"
Etymology
From continent + -al.
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌkɑntɪˈnɛntl̩/
- British English: /ˌkɒntɪˈnɛntl̩/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Synonyms
Antonyms
antonym(s) of