The continuum, a scale or range of something that changes in degree, is one of the most useful and familiar concepts in human knowledge. It applies to all sorts of things, from the scalability of musical styles to the lifespans of human cultures, and it allows us to understand what is happening at any given moment, such as whether individual killings and large wars are two ends of an unbroken curve or merely part of a long, slow process.
But, despite its importance and simplicity, the continuum is often misused in language and can have confusing consequences. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the word and offer some suggestions on how to use it correctly.
For example, many people believe that the four basic parenting styles fall on a continuum from heavy disciplinarian to different more child centered approaches. Similarly, most people who are gluten intolerant can be classified on a continuum from mildly to severely intolerant.
Other examples of the continuum include the relative ease or difficulty of achieving or attaining social status, the extent to which a person’s gender influences their expectations and experiences, the severity of crimes and the corresponding punishments, and the extent to which caste and class systems of stratification restrict interactions between people considered unequal. (These examples have been programmatically compiled from various online sources and do not represent the opinions of Merriam-Webster or its editors.) the continuum