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
Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 10 Mar. 2026
Pritchard has been a hit-or-miss scorer of late, notching single-digit point totals in four of his last eight games, including goose eggs against Philadelphia and Charlotte.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 9 Mar. 2026
Elainie Colton, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2026
Over the years, performances have been hit or miss at the Oscars.
—Samantha Highfill, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hit-or-miss
Adjective
To run the table, Fearne would need the two-man game of Mingo and Anton Bonke to feast on smaller defenders, wing Arden Conyers to continue his late-season stride, and the hit-or-miss game of Damoni Harrison to fire on all cylinders.
—Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 10 Mar. 2026
Pritchard has been a hit-or-miss scorer of late, notching single-digit point totals in four of his last eight games, including goose eggs against Philadelphia and Charlotte.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 9 Mar. 2026
Adverb
The area can expected hit or miss showers and thunderestorms.
—Elainie Colton, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2026
Over the years, performances have been hit or miss at the Oscars.
—Samantha Highfill, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hit-or-miss
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hit-or-miss
Adjective
-
Even if the threshold for disagreement was quite low, disagreements were amplified to the point that each random interaction was increasingly likely to exceed the threshold.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
7 May 2026
-
But as some have learned the hard way, that tendency of random things to appear to form patterns means that the other peak might be just noise.—
Faye Flam,
Scientific American,
7 May 2026
Adverb
-
Hand says that a couple of errors that can make randomly occurring patterns look deceptively connected.—
Faye Flam,
Scientific American,
7 May 2026
-
The trial, funded by Moderna, included more than 40,000 adults ages 50 and up who were randomly assigned to get the mRNA vaccine or one of four standard flu shots during the 2024–2025 flu season.—
Berkeley Lovelace Jr,
NBC news,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
There are a few, scattered references to female gladiators.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Within minutes of leaving town, the pavement twists downward through tight turns and steep grades as the mountain air begins to warm, the vegetation giving way to chaparral and scattered juniper, then to the stark silhouettes of ocotillo and Mojave yucca.—
Josh Jackson,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The fundamental processes governing brain health — genetics, neural and synaptic plasticity, and neuroinflammation — do not respect the arbitrary boundaries drawn between neurology and psychiatry.—
Eric J. Nestler,
STAT,
28 Apr. 2026
-
White-Jacket did cause a stir with its discussion of the arbitrary and cruel use of flogging in the US Navy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
That is unlikely to happen, but Trump’s erratic policymaking and trade wars have given gold a different kind of currency.—
Jennifer Wilson,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
Over the past decade or so, hourly workers across an increasing number of industries have been grappling with erratic schedules that their employers put in place using technology designed to minimize labor costs and maximize productivity.—
Huo Jingnan,
NPR,
3 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hit-or-miss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hit-or-miss. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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