as in sporadic
lacking in steadiness or regularity of occurrence
the novel captures the discontinuous nature of a soldier's life: long stretches of boredom interrupted by flashes of action
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Recent Examples of discontinuous
Spread in thin, discontinuous bands across a few miles of terrain, the ancient material is a challenge to identify and even harder to access.
—
Ella Jeffries, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 May 2025
The city of almost 52,000, carved into discontinuous clumps by unincorporated land, straddles the Denton-Collin county line.
▪ Anna, also in Collin, is a 30 minute drive east of Celina.
—Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 May 2025
Current law, however, is discontinuous.
—Felix Salmon, Axios, 28 Mar. 2025
The fossil record is discontinuous at the Atapuerca site and in Western Europe as a whole, indicating that there were likely long periods without human presence.
—Evan Bush, NBC News, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for discontinuous
Ella Jeffries, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 May 2025
The city of almost 52,000, carved into discontinuous clumps by unincorporated land, straddles the Denton-Collin county line.
▪ Anna, also in Collin, is a 30 minute drive east of Celina.
—Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 May 2025
Current law, however, is discontinuous.
—Felix Salmon, Axios, 28 Mar. 2025
The fossil record is discontinuous at the Atapuerca site and in Western Europe as a whole, indicating that there were likely long periods without human presence.
—Evan Bush, NBC News, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for discontinuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discontinuous
Adjective
-
Oversight becomes sporadic and trust weakens, not because systems fail outright, but because people struggle to explain or stand behind what the systems do.—
Murugan Anandarajan,
The Conversation,
22 Jan. 2026
-
There have also been sporadic collaborations with figures such as Katharine Hamnett and British visual artist Julian Opie.—
Lily Templeton,
Footwear News,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
SMRs also align with Rwanda’s push into energy‑intensive sectors such as data centers, advanced manufacturing, and mineral processing, all of which require stable baseload power that intermittent renewables alone cannot promise.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Jones added that their intermittent hops weren’t simply impressive displays of talent.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Writing a novel is a solitary experience but not writing one is even more so, without the occasional call from an editor or marketing person to keep me warm.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
-
In wellness circles, the drink is credited with a draining, detoxifying, and purifying action that may assist the body’s natural detox processes and help counter occasional constipation.—
Beatrice Zocchi,
Vogue,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Loose, fast, and slightly jerky steps, a sudden joy sweeping through the body like a wind.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
-
This design helps prevent the air from escaping during sudden movements or changes in orientation.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Set aside to cool and then break into irregular shards and reserve for topping the soup.—
Hailee Catalano,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Common symptoms of a cardiac event, like a heart attack, include chest pain or pressure, lightheadedness, heart palpitations and irregular heart rhythms, according to the AHA.—
Isa Almeida,
Oklahoman,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Discontinuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discontinuous. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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