discontinuous

adjective

dis·​con·​tin·​u·​ous ˌdis-kən-ˈtin-yə-wəs 

-yü-əs

1

a(1)

: not continuous

a discontinuous series of events

(2)

: not continued : discrete

discontinuous features of terrain

b

: lacking sequence or coherence

2

: having one or more mathematical discontinuities

—used of a variable or a function

discontinuously adverb

Synonyms

• aperiodic
• casual
• catchy
• choppy
• episodic
• episodical
• erratic
• fitful
• intermittent
• irregular
• occasional
• spasmodic
• spastic
• sporadic
• spotty
• unsteady

Examples of discontinuous in a Sentence

a discontinuous series of events

the novel captures the discontinuous nature of a soldier's life: long stretches of boredom interrupted by flashes of action

Recent Examples on the Web

About 19,000 people had to flee the city, which is in an area with discontinuous permafrost. —Evan Bush, NBC News, 10 Dec. 2024

Both Trump and Harris are tapping into a long, if discontinuous, tradition across America’s history of government investments working alongside private industry to spur innovation and economic development. —Steven Tian, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2024

Black artists, of course, experienced those changes and more, which is reflected in work featuring broken narratives, discontinuous lives, and a ceaseless groping for novel visual vocabularies. —Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2024

Ignoring this would mean disregarding the essential governance and coordination elements of industrial policy and characterizing this approach as being discontinuous with what’s already happening on the ground. —TIME, 16 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1645, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Kids Definition

discontinuous

adjective

dis·​con·​tin·​u·​ous ˌdis-kən-ˈtin-yə-wəs 

: not continuous : having interruptions or gaps : broken

discontinuous sleep

discontinuity

(ˌ)dis-ˌkänt-ᵊn-ˈ(y)ü-ət-ē

noun

discontinuously

ˌdis-kən-ˈtin-yə-wəs-lē

adverb