constantly
Americanadverb
-
without pausing; unceasingly.
Add the milk and cook until thick, stirring constantly.
-
regularly or frequently; consistently.
The charts have to be updated every few years as the geomagnetic field is changing constantly.
We need to be constantly vigilant if we do not want the clutter to get out of hand.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of constantly
Explanation
When something happens constantly, it never stops or changes. If you sister constantly complains that she's hungry, she is always insisting that she's starving. If your dog barks constantly when he's in the car, he doesn't stop until you reach your destination, and if you're constantly thinking about your upcoming trip to France, you can't ever get it out of your head. The adverb constantly comes from constant, or "continual," which is rooted in the Latin constantem, "standing firm, stable, steadfast, or faithful."
Vocabulary lists containing constantly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And I think that’s the purpose of storytelling, is to kind of constantly expand horizons of who is considered human and what is considered human.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
No one forced him to sign-up, he said, but the idea was constantly present.
From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026
“The cistern on my toilet has been constantly refilling and making a hissing noise.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
DNA repair proteins inside cells are constantly being produced and removed to maintain a healthy balance.
From Science Daily • Jun. 10, 2026
Of course, they’d been full of tears nearly constantly since the fair, first because she’d found out her best friend was a terrible person and then because she’d found out that I’d died.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
