continue

verb

Simple meaning

To go on doing something without ending it.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kuhntinyoo

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US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

kənˈtɪnju

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

transitive
To proceed with (doing an activity); to prolong (an activity).
transitive
To make last; to prolong.
intransitive
To resume.
transitive
To retain (someone or something) in a given state, position, etc.
Allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature
“We cannot continue several servants any longer.”

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency: Very Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To proceed with (doing an activity); to prolong (an activity).

Used this way, continue is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: No strong connotation
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use continue

“We continued our research into the cause of the illness.”verb
“The bad weather continued for two more weeks.”verb
“I know it's hard', he continued, `but there is no choice.”verb

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

continue working

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

continuedadjectiveInflected form
Without stop or interruption.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

continuitynounDerived noun · specialist
Uninterrupted connection or union.
continuationnounDerived noun
The act of continuing an activity without interruption.
continuancenounDerived noun
The act of continuing an activity without interruption.
continualadjectiveDerived adjective
Recurring regularly or frequently in a prolonged and closely spaced series.
continuallyadverbDerived adverb
Seemingly without interruption.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

continuing trespassnounCompound term
Trespass that is not transient or intermittent but continues as long as the offending object remains.
continued fractionnounCompound term
A fraction whose numerator is an integer and whose denominator is an integer plus a fraction whose numerator is an integer and whose denominator is an integer plus a fraction and so on.
continuing educationnounCompound term
A program of instruction designed primarily for adult students who participate part-time.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to proceed with (doing an activity)

carry on

Antonyms

Sense: to proceed with (doing an activity)

ceaseFormaldiscontinue

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.