as in sporadic
lacking in steadiness or regularity of occurrence
the novel captures the discontinuous nature of a soldier's life: long stretches of boredom interrupted by flashes of action
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Recent Examples of discontinuous
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
In the current conflict, Hamas attacked Israel with much greater sophistication and scale than ever before—a massive, discontinuous change.
—Amy Zegart, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2023
Abstract: Tasks involving locally unstable or discontinuous dynamics (such as bifurcations and collisions) remain challenging in robotics, because small variations in the environment can have a significant impact on task outcomes.
—Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum, 2 June 2023
The world is in the early stages of a vast and likely discontinuous energy transition that will match the Industrial Revolution in its hard-to-anticipate effects.
—Robert B. Zoellick, Foreign Affairs, 22 Feb. 2022
See All Example Sentences for discontinuous
TIME, 16 Oct. 2023
In the current conflict, Hamas attacked Israel with much greater sophistication and scale than ever before—a massive, discontinuous change.
—Amy Zegart, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2023
Abstract: Tasks involving locally unstable or discontinuous dynamics (such as bifurcations and collisions) remain challenging in robotics, because small variations in the environment can have a significant impact on task outcomes.
—Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum, 2 June 2023
The world is in the early stages of a vast and likely discontinuous energy transition that will match the Industrial Revolution in its hard-to-anticipate effects.
—Robert B. Zoellick, Foreign Affairs, 22 Feb. 2022
See All Example Sentences for discontinuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discontinuous
Adjective
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It’s been pretty sporadic and erratic with a bunch of them.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
27 Feb. 2025
-
In its initial phase, between 1990 and 2005, pirate attacks were sporadic and contained mostly in the Gulf of Aden.—
Soham Mitra, Lou Robinson and Patrick Gallagher,
CNN,
22 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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And while some similarly reparative serums require some downtime or intermittent usage, this can be applied mindlessly.—
Kiana Murden,
Vogue,
7 Mar. 2025
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After the know-nothing county board opts to raze the baseball diamond to make way for a school, the teams meet for one final game at their beloved Soldier’s Field, with girlfriends, kids, and local hooligans as intermittent spectators.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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When do most of us wear gowns outside of the occasional black tie wedding?—
Sarah Boyd,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
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Staff chat in Spanish during the occasional lull between rushes and fresh tortillas perfume the air, making the space feel like a friend’s dining room.—
Edmund Tijerina,
Bon Appétit,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Escaping a sudden, massive flood, a smart, mischievous black cat clambers aboard a boat shared by a dog, a capybara, and a lemur, as well as a long-legged secretary bird.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
TIME,
2 Mar. 2025
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As big of a star as The Rock is, his sudden inclusion in Rhodes’ road to WrestleMania seems both forced and unnecessary, especially after their equally strange interaction on Raw’s Netflix premiere.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Discontinuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discontinuous. Accessed 11 Mar. 2025.
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