discontinuous

adjective

dis·con·tin·u·ous | \ ˌdis-kən-ˈtin-yə-wəs ,

-yü-əs \

Definition of discontinuous

1a(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

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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 chaos and panic

Recent Examples on the Web

All six Mary Pages are excellent, handing off, as if in a relay race, the baton of the character’s discontinuous personality. — Jesse Green, New York Times, "Review: ‘Mary Page Marlowe’ Lives an Ordinary, Extraordinary Life," 12 July 2018 Sometimes the eyes in a portrait peer in different directions, evidence of the discontinuous process. — Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker, "The Lurchingly Uneven Portraits of Paul Cézanne," 21 Feb. 2011 New Orleans is sinking, much like her former home in the discontinuous permafrost zone of Alaska. — Ned Rozell, Anchorage Daily News, "Why people return to flawed places with renewed passion," 23 Dec. 2017 As temperatures rise, the boundary between continuous and discontinuous permafrost is expected to migrate north. — Yereth Rosen, Alaska Dispatch News, "Landslides, floods, smoke: Prepare for climate change effects in Denali National Park," 1 Sep. 2017 In this study, the researchers selected ninety-seven endurance runners (47 women) with diverse running backgrounds to perform, a discontinuous protocol of incremental treadmill running (4- minute stages, 1-kilometer per hour increments). — NOLA.com, "Optimum Performance: Want to run faster then stop and read," 23 June 2017 It is construed as transformation, construction and alteration of reality through time; evolution as a discontinuous creation process as well. — Bruce Sterling, WIRED, "Showtime: Onionlab, Evolució at Mapping Festival 2013," 31 May 2013

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'discontinuous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.