Word family noun continuation ≠ discontinuation continuity ≠ discontinuity adjective continual continued ≠ discontinued continuous ≠ discontinuous verb continue ≠ discontinue adverb continually continuously
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_714_zcontinuecon‧tin‧ue /kənˈtɪnjuː/ ●●● S1 W1 verb 1 [intransitive, transitive]CONTINUE/NOT STOP to not stop happening, existing, or doing something → continuous, continual, discontinuecontinue to do something Sheila continued to work after she had her baby. He will be continuing his education in the US. I felt too sick to continue.continue unabated/apace/unchecked (=continue at the same high speed or level) The flood of refugees continued unabated.continue with He was permitted to continue with his work while in prison.continue for The strike continued for another four weeks.continue doing something Most elderly people want to continue living at home for as long as they can.2 [intransitive, transitive]CONTINUE/START AGAIN to start again, or start doing something again, after an interruption SYN resume After a brief ceasefire, fighting continued. Rescue teams will continue the search tomorrow.continue doing something He picked up his book and continued reading.3 [intransitive]TRAVEL to go further in the same directioncontinue down/along/into etc We continued along the road for some time. The road continues northwards to the border.4 [intransitive] to stay in the same job, situation etccontinue as Miss Silva will continue as publishing director.5 [intransitive, transitive]CONTINUE/START AGAIN to say more after an interruption ‘And so, ’ he continued, ‘we will try harder next time.’6 → to be continuedTHESAURUSto continue doing somethingcontinue to not stop doing something that you are already doingWe need the money to continue our work.They continued arguing for a long time.Despite all the warnings, many people continue to smoke.Sometimes she just couldn’t see the point of continuing.My teacher advised me to continue with my studies.go on (also carry on especially British English) to continue doing something. Go on is less formal than continue, and is the phrase that people usually use in everyday EnglishDan went on talking but she was no longer listening.He carried on with his day job.Sheehan has carried on with her campaign.keep (on) doing something [not in progressive] to continue doing something for a long time – especially so that you feel tired or annoyedWe kept on walking until we got to the top of the hill.The man kept staring at me.persevere /ˌpɜːsəˈvɪə $ ˌpɜːrsəˈvɪr/ to continue trying to do something in a very patient and determined way, in spite of difficulties. Persevere sounds rather formalHe didn’t know any English, but he persevered and became a good student.Her health was rapidly declining but she persevered with her duties.Stevenson persevered in his efforts to discover what had really happened.Children today seem less willing to seek out challenges and persevere in the face of adversity.to continue to happencontinue to happen without stoppingThe good weather seems likely to continue.Unless there are serious negotiations, the fighting will continue.Some people have lost work, and this will continue to happen until the computer system is fixed.The review process is expected to continue for several weeks.last to continue – use this to say how long something continues forI know my good luck won’t last forever.It’s not certain how long the ceasefire will last.The trial lasted for six days.The meeting lasted until lunchtime.The training period lasted from July 2 to August 25.go on to continue, especially for a long timeDisputes between neighbours can go on for years.carry on British English to continue, especially when there are problemsThe game carried on despite the injury of two players.drag on to continue for much longer than necessary or for longer than you wantThe meeting dragged on for another hour.The talks dragged on, with no apparent hope of achieving a peaceful solution.persist formal if something bad persists, it continues to exist or happenSee your doctor if the symptoms persist.If adverse weather conditions persist, the game will be cancelled. → See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
continue• Sometimes she just couldn't see the point of continuing.• The good weather seems likely to continue.• After a while the rain stopped, allowing the game to continue.• The concert will continue after a brief intermission.• Nate didn't answer, so Murphy continued, "All of this happened before I was hired."• Development can continue, but alongside conservation, so that those who depend on natural resources can continue to do so.• "That may be, " he continued, "but the factory will still be closing at the end of the year."• Turn and continue cooking on the other side, approximately 4 to 5 minutes.• Have a rest before you continue driving.• The review process is expected to continue for several weeks.• The project's organizers hope the government will continue funding it next year.• Soviet leaders said they would continue Gorbachev's democratic reforms.• He has decided to go back to Cambridge to continue his medical studies.• Continuing in a quieter voice, she asked how long he'd been married.• The analogies between jazz and pentecostalism continue into more recent years.• NASA continues its efforts to communicate with intelligent beings in outer space.• He's not sure whether he'll be able to continue skiing competitively after the operation.• He flicked away another cigarette as they made their way towards him to continue the drive still higher into the hills.• Before they could continue their conversation, Frank Gordon came over to speak to Oliver.• Dry weather will continue through the weekend.• The hearing continues Thursday with testimony from Federal Reserve Board officials and consumer advocates.• The result continues to be discrimination.• Some people have lost work, and this will continue to happen until the computer system is fixed.• She continued to live in the same house after the death of her husband.• Despite all the warnings, many people continue to smoke.• My teacher advised me to continue with my studies.continue doing something• We continued drinking until after midnight.continue down/along/into etc• Does childhood disorder continue into adulthood?• As the investigation continued into June, Dunlap could feel the vise tighten, squeezing out any possibility of hope.• In some years passage continues into June; for example, in June 1970,640 were seen passing off Selsey Bill.• However, these were now too low and my prospects too poor for me to continue along that track.• I continue along the dark pavement with my hands thrust deep inside my pockets.• A well-graded road leads south, over a bridge, crosses the freeway and continues into the desert.• The onslaught continued into the second half.• If it does not, its ascent will continue into the twenty-second.Origin continue (1300-1400) French continuer, from Latin continuare, from continuus; → CONTINUOUS 