The Word ‘Continuum’ Has 2 Meanings

The continuum is the range or series that gradually changes, with no part clearly distinct from its neighbor. It’s also a term used to describe the range in which something has a particular characteristic.

Gender, for example, is not a binary selection between male and female; it lies on a continuum. So do the different styles of parenting, with those who are heavy on discipline and those who take a more child centered approach falling on either side of a basic continuum. Caste and class systems of stratification are opposite, extreme points on a continuum, as well.

Kids, for instance, aren’t a simple line on a chart that starts at “suck” and ends at “better.” The truth is, they’re all somewhere on a continuum that stretches from “suck” to “better.” These examples have been programmatically selected from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘continuum.’ Send us feedback. the continuum