as in random
lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern
your hit-or-miss schedule for taking your medication is going to land you in the hospital again
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in randomly
without definite aim, direction, rule, or method
I was learning Spanish hit or miss, mostly just by hearing my friends speak it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hit-or-miss
Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 17 Oct. 2025
The officiating has been hit-or-miss all season long.
—Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2026
Folks coming downtown from the suburbs know Metra trains long have run 10 minutes late (or later) too often, and the CTA can be hit or miss.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hit-or-miss
Adjective
And while this didn’t necessarily mark the end of the league’s hit-or-miss booking strategy—turns out that 1997 Blues Brothers tribute featuring Jim Belushi and John Goodman wasn’t the product of a mass hallucination—the Wacko Jacko coup was a huge step forward for the NFL.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 17 Oct. 2025
The officiating has been hit-or-miss all season long.
—Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Adverb
The Trojans were five for 24 inside the arc through one half, left to rely instead on their long-range shooting, which mostly has been hit or miss.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2026
Folks coming downtown from the suburbs know Metra trains long have run 10 minutes late (or later) too often, and the CTA can be hit or miss.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hit-or-miss
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hit-or-miss
Adjective
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Police have started planning for next year’s New Year’s events, including traffic control and celebratory random gunfire, Comeaux said.—
Timia Cobb
Breaking News Reporter,
Dallas Morning News,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Powering through the memory shortage Memory costs — primarily referring to DRAM, or dynamic random access memory used for temporary, short-term semiconductor memory and NAND used for long-term storage — have soared over the past year due to rising compute needs from AI data centers.—
Pia Singh,
CNBC,
29 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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This is the first evidence that this quark-gluon plasma reacts to particles speeding through it in the same way that liquid does, splashing and rippling, acting as a single unified liquid rather than randomly scattering as individual particles would.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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After being randomly split into two groups, they are tasked with creating a dessert that is centered around flavor profiles that test one of the four tastes—sweet, salty, sour, or bitter—combined with a specific texture.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Its fractured, scattered form, grasping for structure instead of pretending to master it, is an attempt to build a future that will include both author and reader.—
Robert Rubsam,
The Atlantic,
1 Jan. 2026
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On Sunday, rain will pick up across the Midwest from Kansas and Missouri through Ohio and Pennsylvania while scattered thunderstorms are possible from Arkansas up to Ohio, with some possibly strong enough to bring gusty winds and maybe an isolated tornado.—
Kyle Reiman,
ABC News,
27 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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The memorandum filed Monday argues the court should not adopt the deferential standard of arbitrary or capricious.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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The judge also said the administration’s decision had been arbitrary and capricious, given its failure to consider Vineyard Wind’s interest in having the project continue on its schedule to a March completion.—
Mark Chediak,
Bloomberg,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Engram’s impact at TE1 was erratic, though, to put it kindly.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Even for a politician known for erratic policy shifts, this swap—of longtime democratic partners that have sacrificed much for America’s benefit in exchange for an authoritarian regime intent on undermining it—is bizarre.—
Michael Schuman,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hit-or-miss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hit-or-miss. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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