continuity
/ˌkɑn.tɪˈn(j)u.ə.ti/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.77 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
5
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Lack of interruption or disconnection; the quality of being continuous in space or time.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A narrative device in episodic fiction where previous and/or future events in a series of stories are accounted for in present stories.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "While troubleshooting the heating and cooling system, we found a lack of continuity in a circuit that is normally closed."
- "Considerable continuity of attention is needed to read German philosophy."
- "Vacuum-fitted wagons are provided with complete vacuum-brake equipment; "piped" wagons have through pipes, enabling them to be marshalled in vacuum-braked trains without interrupting the continuity of the vacuum brake connections, but are not provided themselves with vacuum brake gear."
- "As on Nos. 20001-3, the motor and generator armature shafts of the new locomotive each carry a heavy flywheel to provide kinetic energy and help maintain the speed of the motor-generator set during interruptions of supply, as at breaks in the continuity of the conductor rail."
- "With the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV, the College of Cardinals sent a clear message of continuity with the reformist agenda of his predecessor, Pope Francis."
- "The definition of a continuous function assumes that the function is already defined for x = a. If this is not the case, however, it is sometimes possible to assign such a value to the function for x = a that the condition of continuity shall be satisfied."
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French continuité, from Latin continuitas. By surface analysis, continu(e) + -ity.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: continuité, continuitas
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌkɑn.tɪˈn(j)u.ə.ti/
- British English: /ˌkɒn.tɪˈnjuː.ɪ.ti/
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- British usage