continuum

noun

con·​tin·​u·​um kən-ˈtin-yü-əm 

plural continua kən-ˈtin-yü-ə  also continuums

1

: a coherent whole characterized as a collection, sequence, or progression of values or elements varying by minute degrees

"good" and "bad" … stand at opposite ends of a continuum instead of describing the two halves of a line

—Wayne Shumaker

2

: the set of real numbers including both the rationals and the irrationals

broadly : a compact set which cannot be separated into two sets neither of which contains a limit point of the other

Examples of continuum in a Sentence

His motives for volunteering lie somewhere on the continuum between charitable and self-serving.

a continuum of temperatures ranging from very cold to very hot

Recent Examples on the Web

But, for me, part of that continuum of getting that high energy part of him. —Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2024

This series serves as a duality of existence–that there is a continuum in these spaces, which also, challenges stereotypes about the Black experience–especially my experience of growing up in the suburbs of Southfield, Michigan in Metro Detroit. —Caterina De Biasio, Vogue, 25 Sep. 2024

Symbolic logic turns this kind of argument into algebra, readily shared, solved and generalized for cracking a continuum of conundrums. —Vinay K. Chaudhri, Scientific American, 5 Sep. 2024

The United States will be majority non-white by 2050 and the Democrats recognize that within that new majority, there is the old ideological continuum of left and right. —Richard Stengel, TIME, 17 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin, noun derivative from neuter of Latin continuus continuous

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

continuum

noun

con·​tin·​u·​um kən-ˈtin-yə-wəm 

plural continuua

-yə-wə

also continuums

: something that is continuous and the same throughout and that is often thought of as a series of elements or values which differ by only tiny amounts

"light" and "dark" stand at opposite ends of a continuum