Continuum
/kənˈtɪnjuəm/ noun
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A continuous series or whole, no part of which is noticeably different from its adjacent parts, although the ends or extremes of it are very different from each other.
"Near-synonym: spectrum"
- 2 a continuous nonspatial whole or extent or succession in which no part or portion is distinct or distinguishable from adjacent parts wordnet
- 3 A continuous extent.
"A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place."
- 4 The nondenumerable set of real numbers; more generally, any compact connected metric space.
- 5 A touch-sensitive strip, similar to an electronic standard musical keyboard, except that the note steps are ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a semitone, and so are not separately marked.
Example
More examples"There is no room for a vacuum in a continuum."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin continuum, neuter form of continuus, from contineō (“contain, enclose”).