discontinuous

adjective

dis·​con·​tin·​u·​ous ˌdis-kən-ˈtin-yə-wəs How to pronounce discontinuous (audio)
-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

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 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 Abstract: Tasks involving locally unstable or discontinuous dynamics (such as bifurcations and collisions) remain challenging in robotics, because small variations in the environment can have a significant impact on task outcomes. Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum, 2 June 2023 See all Example Sentences for discontinuous 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'discontinuous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1645, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Time Traveler
The first known use of discontinuous was in 1645

Dictionary Entries Near discontinuous

Cite this Entry

“Discontinuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discontinuous. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

discontinuous

adjective
dis·​con·​tin·​u·​ous ˌdis-kən-ˈtin-yə-wəs How to pronounce discontinuous (audio)
: not continuous : having interruptions or gaps : broken
discontinuous sleep
discontinuity
(ˌ)dis-ˌkänt-ᵊn-ˈ(y)ü-ət-ē
noun
discontinuously
ˌdis-kən-ˈtin-yə-wəs-lē
adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on discontinuous

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