as in mainland
one of the great divisions of land on the globe or the main part of such a division
Europe and Asia are sometimes considered together to be one continent
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in ascetical
given to or marked by restraint in the satisfaction of one's appetites
a religious sect that expects its unmarried members to be completely celibate and its married adherents to maintain continent relationships
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of continent
Ian Kelly, Chicago Tribune, 21 Feb. 2025
Long considered highly medicinal on the African continent, its anti-hyperglycemic properties are being evaluated for use in treatment of diabetes.
—Joshua Siskin, Orange County Register, 21 Feb. 2025
Hannah Oh, Seventeen, 23 Jan. 2023
The resilient East African nation has rebounded over the past three decades; so, too, has its lion population, via a cross-continent initiative led by AndBeyond, African Parks and the Rwanda Development Board.
—Stephanie Vermillion, Robb Report, 3 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for continent
Noun
Before this administration, no senior American official would have suggested that the U.S. should take anything but a leadership role in facing a major threat — let alone the greatest land war on the European continent since World War II.
—Ian Kelly, Chicago Tribune, 21 Feb. 2025
Long considered highly medicinal on the African continent, its anti-hyperglycemic properties are being evaluated for use in treatment of diabetes.
—Joshua Siskin, Orange County Register, 21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
The singer spent the past year flying around the world for her multi-continent Future Nostalgia tour and continued her jet-setting this past week with a trip to Groningen, Netherlands.
—Hannah Oh, Seventeen, 23 Jan. 2023
The resilient East African nation has rebounded over the past three decades; so, too, has its lion population, via a cross-continent initiative led by AndBeyond, African Parks and the Rwanda Development Board.
—Stephanie Vermillion, Robb Report, 3 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for continent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for continent
Noun
-
The designer opened his first mainland China store in Shanghai, and his first U.S. store in Los Angeles in 2020, followed by a location in Chengdu, China, in 2022.—
Miles Socha,
WWD,
25 Feb. 2025
-
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.36% in its last hour of trade while mainland China’s CSI 300 dipped 1.11% to 3,925.65 amid escalating trade tensions with the U.S.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Based on fossil evidence, it is believed that the Antarctica of 66 million years ago sported a temperate climate with lush vegetation—an ideal setting for the development of the ancestors of ducks and geese.—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
10 Feb. 2025
-
Fossil evidence suggests that Antarctica had a temperate climate with lots of vegetation 69 million years ago.—
Margherita Bassi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
6 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
While Mathu is an ascetic loner, Malby was a hedonistic womanizer.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
20 Feb. 2025
-
By the 18th century, the 13 major ascetic akharas, or sects of Hindu priests, played a central role in Kumbh Mela rituals.—
Aakash Hassan,
The Christian Science Monitor,
29 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
The solution offered up by some: the sort of abstemious, low-fat, often vegetarian, diets that had been prescribed as lust-control regimens only decades earlier.—
Rachel Hope Cleves / Made by History,
TIME,
14 Feb. 2025
-
But somehow, during his more recent years in Gujarat, Modi had managed to rebrand himself as a sunny, pro-business techno-utopian, an abstemious leader with an intuitive grasp of 21st-century infrastructure and social media.—
Mohammad Ali,
WIRED,
14 Apr. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Continent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/continent. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share