Synonyms of discrete

discrete

adjective

di-ˈskrēt 

as in single

not physically attached to another unit

several discrete sections to this vast medical complex, including a college of pharmacology and a research center

Synonyms & Similar Words

• single
• separate
• detached
• private
• unconnected
• independent
• free
• individual
• disconnected
• freestanding
• unattached
• self-contained

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• connected
• joined
• attached
• linked
• adjoining

Synonym Chooser

How is the word discrete different from other adjectives like it?

The words distinct and separate are common synonyms of discrete. While all three words mean "not being each and every one the same," discrete strongly emphasizes individuality and lack of connection.

broke the job down into discrete stages

When can distinct be used instead of discrete?

The meanings of distinct and discrete largely overlap; however, distinct indicates that something is distinguished by the mind or eye as being apart or different from others.

two distinct versions

When could separate be used to replace discrete?

The synonyms separate and discrete are sometimes interchangeable, but separate often stresses lack of connection or a difference in identity between two things.

separate rooms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of discrete

To accomplish this, Licklider proposed atomizing books into discrete blocks of information — exactly as Otlet had suggested more than half a century before, but now assisted by digital tools rather than index cards. —Big Think, 9 Feb. 2026

When several landmasses collided to form the supercontinent Pangea long before the dinosaurs, Earth’s crust shattered into discrete blocks and folded like a rug pushed against a wall, rising to form mountains spanning from the Appalachians to the Atlas. —Evan Howell, Scientific American, 4 Feb. 2026

The stock should not have been down yesterday as the tanker program issue was discrete and FCF improved. —Jim Cramer, CNBC, 28 Jan. 2026

Traditionally, the geometry of smooth shapes has advanced much faster, dragging the less developed theory of discrete geometry along behind it. —Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 20 Jan. 2026