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
Increased spotting potential east of the PCT exists, however, these spots have low potential for spread due to sparse, discontinuous vegetation or they can be accessed and suppressed by firefighting resources.
—
Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 12 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for discontinuous
Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 12 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for discontinuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discontinuous
Adjective
-
Siffre took a sporadic approach to releasing music over the years, dropping six albums in a five-year span during the ’70s, including his standout LP Crying Laughing Loving Lying, before retiring.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
17 Feb. 2026
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With Yemen challenged by the social and economic effects of a sporadic but ongoing civil war between Houthi rebels and the central government, conditions have proven difficult for Almatrahi and his family members to visit their homeland.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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How the Study Worked In the study, 72 inactive adults with panic disorder who weren’t taking medications as treatment completed a 12-week program of brief intermittent intense exercise or relaxation training.—
Tom Gavin,
EverydayHealth.com,
11 Feb. 2026
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Due to its durability and rapid response time, the team expects the technology to be used to stabilize power grids and manage the intermittent output of renewable energy sources.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Scam centers proliferating as criminal gangs flout laws In Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, a failure to consistently enforce laws against human trafficking, labor abuses and criminal activities have allowed cyber-scam centers to flourish despite occasional crackdowns, the report noted.—
Elaine Kurtenbach,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
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While occasional scooting can happen, recurring episodes usually signal an underlying issue with anal glands.—
Kasey Caminiti,
USA Today,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Two years before Tony Clark’s sudden resignation made Bruce Meyer the head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, Meyer composed a letter to quiet the union members calling for his ouster.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2026
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The Major League Baseball Players Association has elected a new executive director following the sudden departure of Tony Clark, who had led the union for over a decade.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The distinctive lifestyle of elite athletes can create a hotbed for eating disorders and disordered eating, meaning restrictive, compulsive, irregular or inflexible eating patterns, all of which can occur on a spectrum.—
Emily Hemendinger,
The Conversation,
13 Feb. 2026
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Some of the more common symptoms, such as irregular periods and hot flashes, are more obvious.—
Jocelyn Solis-Moreira,
Flow Space,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Discontinuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discontinuous. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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