discontinuous
adjective
dis·con·tin·u·ous
ˌdis-kən-ˈtin-yə-wəs 
-yü-əs
1
a(1)
: not continuous
a discontinuous series of events
(2)
: not continued : discrete
discontinuous features of terrain
b
: lacking sequence or coherence
2
: having one or more mathematical discontinuities
—used of a variable or a function
discontinuously
adverb
Synonyms
Examples of discontinuous in a Sentence
a discontinuous series of events
the novel captures the discontinuous nature of a soldier's life: long stretches of boredom interrupted by flashes of action
Recent Examples on the Web
Both Trump and Harris are tapping into a long, if discontinuous, tradition across America’s history of government investments working alongside private industry to spur innovation and economic development.
—
Steven Tian, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2024
Black artists, of course, experienced those changes and more, which is reflected in work featuring broken narratives, discontinuous lives, and a ceaseless groping for novel visual vocabularies.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2024
Ignoring this would mean disregarding the essential governance and coordination elements of industrial policy and characterizing this approach as being discontinuous with what’s already happening on the ground.
—TIME, 16 Oct. 2023
In the current conflict, Hamas attacked Israel with much greater sophistication and scale than ever before—a massive, discontinuous change.
—Amy Zegart, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for discontinuous 
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Steven Tian, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2024
Black artists, of course, experienced those changes and more, which is reflected in work featuring broken narratives, discontinuous lives, and a ceaseless groping for novel visual vocabularies.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2024
Ignoring this would mean disregarding the essential governance and coordination elements of industrial policy and characterizing this approach as being discontinuous with what’s already happening on the ground.
—TIME, 16 Oct. 2023
In the current conflict, Hamas attacked Israel with much greater sophistication and scale than ever before—a massive, discontinuous change.
—Amy Zegart, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for discontinuous
Dictionary Entries Near discontinuous
Cite this Entry
“Discontinuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discontinuous. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
discontinuous
adjective
dis·con·tin·u·ous
ˌdis-kən-ˈtin-yə-wəs
: not continuous : having interruptions or gaps : broken
discontinuous sleep
discontinuity
noun
(ˌ)dis-ˌkänt-ᵊn-ˈ(y)ü-ət-ē
discontinuously
adverb
ˌdis-kən-ˈtin-yə-wəs-lē
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