as in haphazard
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Recent Examples of hit-and-miss
Multiple rounds of hit-and-miss showers are possible in the Kansas City area on Monday, with some of the storms expected to be strong to severe, according to the National Weather Service.
—
Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 30 June 2025
Capaldi himself was a phenomenal Doctor, bringing that trademark blend of grizzled warrior and cosmic buffoon, but his episodes were a bit hit-and-miss.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 29 May 2025
On the other hand, anti-personnel drone bombing is, so to speak, a matter or hit-and-miss.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
Her exit comes after a hit-and-miss string of Prime Video titles with high budgets: Under her tenure, for every spectacular Fallout came a lackluster Citadel or Red One.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 28 Mar. 2025
Yet success and financial backing were hit-and-miss until 2019 with Stewart-Haas Racing.
—Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 10 Feb. 2025
The quality of the ensemble players can be hit-and-miss.
—Nina Metz, Twin Cities, 10 Jan. 2025
And there is, of course, uncertainty in partnering with any movie due to the hit-and-miss nature of Hollywood.
—Louis Biscotti, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
This is fairly hit-and-miss — there are lots of references and hyper online deep cuts.
—Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 20 Oct. 2024
Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 30 June 2025
Capaldi himself was a phenomenal Doctor, bringing that trademark blend of grizzled warrior and cosmic buffoon, but his episodes were a bit hit-and-miss.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 29 May 2025
On the other hand, anti-personnel drone bombing is, so to speak, a matter or hit-and-miss.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
Her exit comes after a hit-and-miss string of Prime Video titles with high budgets: Under her tenure, for every spectacular Fallout came a lackluster Citadel or Red One.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 28 Mar. 2025
Yet success and financial backing were hit-and-miss until 2019 with Stewart-Haas Racing.
—Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 10 Feb. 2025
The quality of the ensemble players can be hit-and-miss.
—Nina Metz, Twin Cities, 10 Jan. 2025
And there is, of course, uncertainty in partnering with any movie due to the hit-and-miss nature of Hollywood.
—Louis Biscotti, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
This is fairly hit-and-miss — there are lots of references and hyper online deep cuts.
—Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 20 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hit-and-miss
Adjective
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Both shows just burn through villains in the most haphazard and jarring way, never really allowing for any of them to build up into something truly threatening, let alone interesting enough to carry the mantle of Big Bad.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
22 June 2025
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That fact was evident not only in the casualties and hostage-taking during the massacre, but in the grinding, brutal, and haphazard war in Gaza that has followed.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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Din Djarin, Boba Fett, and a random stormtrooper are all effectively evoked by these simple outfits.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
4 July 2025
-
The prime time talent show is once again ruining our viewing of acts by constantly cutting in reaction shots of the audience, hosts and random people.—
Ticked Off,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 July 2025
Adjective
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Truthfully, a lot of the mixtapes were hit-or-miss studio session dumps with half-assed themes.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
4 July 2025
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Not to mention the hit-or-miss vagaries of Electrify America chargers: one day everything works, the next day multiple chargers are down.—
Brooke Crothers,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2025
Adjective
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Rather than adapting, many boys and men are left confused, resentful and aimless.—
Chuka Emezue,
Chicago Tribune,
15 June 2025
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Too many of his dribbles were aimless or ended in backwards passes.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
9 June 2025
Adjective
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The Stanley Cup-holding Florida Panthers got there with Friday night’s desultory 2-0 home loss to the Maple Leafs to put their second round series at 3-3.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
18 May 2025
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The desultory attention to regional conditions compromises the book’s conclusions and recommendations.—
Suzanne Maloney,
Foreign Affairs,
10 Dec. 2019
Adjective
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These seemingly arbitrary small items are essentially sweeteners to win over lawmakers who might quibble with the broader thrust of the legislation.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
4 July 2025
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Regardless, the court continues to find that the government's actions were arbitrary and capricious, in part because the government never bothered to define the problems that would get a grant canceled.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
3 July 2025
Adjective
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An off-duty Fort Worth police officer’s personal vehicle was struck by a stray bullet when some teens were firing shots northwest of downtown early Sunday morning, police said.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 June 2025
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Detectives initially thought Powell was an innocent bystander hit by a stray bullet, but soon found an eyewitness who saw Powell arguing with a man moments before she was killed, a police source with knowledge of the investigation said.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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On a whim, Joe decides to oppose him, and recruits his fellow officers, Guy (Luke Grimes) and Michael (Micheal Ward), to help him with his admittedly slapdash campaign.—
Radhika Seth,
Vogue,
19 May 2025
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Mad About the Boy, an adaptation of the slapdash third novel that starts streaming on Peacock on February 13, keeps the trope-laden structure, but finds surprising depth in a devastating plot twist.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
7 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hit-and-miss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hit-and-miss. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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