What Is the Continuum?

The continuum is the range or series of something that gradually changes but has distinctly defined extremes. For example, it’s easy to see that kids aren’t on a continuum that starts at suck and ends at good; it’s more like a curve that starts at “disgusting” and ends at “awful.”

In the theory of relativity, the past, present and future are all a warping of the spacetime continuum.

Trying to define stages on any evolutionary or developmental continuum–whether musical styles, human life stages, or human behaviors–is doomed to imperfection. In the case of human evolution, it’s impossible to know what will come next.

It’s also difficult to decide at what point a particular dialect becomes a separate language, or whether the severity of crime is part of a continuum that starts with petty theft and ends with murder. The following are some examples programmatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage of the word continuum. These examples are not endorsed by the editors of Merriam-Webster or its publisher. Please send us feedback about these examples. You can also find related words and phrases by browsing the list of synonyms or by searching the web for “continuum.”. Copyright 2010 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. the continuum

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