discontinuity

noun

dis·​con·​ti·​nu·​ity (ˌ)dis-ˌkän-tə-ˈnü-ə-tē 

-ˈnyü-

1

: lack of continuity or cohesion

2

: gap sense 5

3

a

: the property of being not mathematically continuous

a point of discontinuity

b

: an instance of being not mathematically continuous

especially : a value of an independent variable at which a function is not continuous

Synonyms

• breach
• break
• gap
• gulf
• hiatus
• hole
• interstice
• interval
• opening
• rent
• rift
• separation
• void

Examples of discontinuity in a Sentence

There is a sense of discontinuity between the book's chapters.

microscopic discontinuities in the connecting wires

Recent Examples on the Web

This trait formed what Ella and I came to call a telescoping process, with parts stretching back across time, marking the discontinuity between past and present, and then collapsing it. —Rebecca J. Lester, Scientific American, 1 June 2023

If governments do not recognize this, the world will confront some jarring discontinuities in the years ahead, including new economic and security threats that will reconfigure global politics. —Jason Bordoff, Foreign Affairs, 30 Nov. 2021

The name was a play on the Mohorovičić discontinuity, or Moho, which defines the boundary between the crust and mantle. —Quanta Magazine, 4 Jan. 2024

For all its jangly discontinuities, the current work (all untitled) feels newly grounded. —Nancy Princenthal, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing discontinuity

• Mohorovicic discontinuity