discontinuous

D2I1S1C3O1N1T1I1N1U1O1U1S1

adjective

having breaks or interruptions; intermittent

Similar
patchyspasmodicbrokenfitfulraggedcatchyintermissiveintermittent
Opposite
continuous
OriginEnglish continuous ← Middle English dis- ← Latin dis- →
Less commonScrabble 16
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Meanings

adjectivediscontinuous (not comparable)
  1. not comparablehaving breaks or interruptions; intermittent

    The high capital costs of electrification are cited, with a suggestion that in challenging locations discontinuous electrification could be considered.

    2020 December 16, “Northern rail leaders discuss phase-out of diesel”, in RAIL, page 12

    Synonyms: patchy, spasmodic · Antonyms: continuous

  2. not comparablemathematicshaving at least one discontinuity

    Antonyms: continuous

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivehaving breaks or interruptions; intermittent

Similar
patchyspasmodic
Opposite
continuous

adjectivehaving at least one discontinuity

Opposite
continuous
Similar
brokenfitfulraggedcatchyintermissiveintermittentstop-start
Narrower
on-againoff-againon-offtwinkling

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveof a function or curve; possessing one or more discontinuities

Opposite
continuous

adjectivenot continuing without interruption in time or space

Similar
noncontinuousdisrupteddisjunct
Opposite
continuous
Also see
brokendisjunctdisruptedfitfulincoherentintermissiveintermittentnoncontinuoussaltatoryspasmodicstop-gostop-start

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
  2. Proto-Indo-European*trísinflu.
  3. Proto-Indo-European*d(w)is-
  4. Proto-Italic*dis-
  5. Latindis-
  6. Old Frenchdes-
  7. Latindis-
  8. Middle Englishdis-
  9. Englishdis-
  10. Englishcontinuous
  11. Englishdiscontinuous

From dis- + continuous.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic مُتَقَطِّع
  • مُتَقَطِّع (mutaqaṭṭiʕ)intermittent
Bulgarian прекъснат
  • прекъснат (prekăsnat)in mathematics
Czech nespojitý
  • nespojitýin mathematics
Danish usammenhængende, afbrudt
  • usammenhængendeintermittent
  • afbrudtintermittent
  • diskontinuerligintermittent
  • diskontinuertin mathematics
Estonian katkev
  • katkevin mathematics
Finnish epäjatkuva
  • epäjatkuvain mathematics
German unstetig
  • unstetigin mathematics
Greek διαλείπων, διακεκομμένος
  • διαλείπων (dialeípon)intermittent
  • διακεκομμένος (diakekomménos)intermittent
  • ασυνεχής (asynechís)in mathematics
Irish neamhleanúnach, bearnach
  • neamhleanúnachintermittent
  • bearnachintermittent
  • bristeintermittent
Māori tāmutumutu
  • tāmutumutuintermittent
Norwegian Bokmål diskontinuerlig, diskontinuerlig
  • diskontinuerligintermittent
  • diskontinuerligin mathematics
Spanish discontinuo, descontinuo
  • discontinuointermittent
  • descontinuointermittent
  • discontinuoin mathematics
Swedish diskontinuerlig
  • diskontinuerligin mathematics
Tagalog dituluyan
  • dituluyanin mathematics
Cite this entry
APA

discontinuous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/discontinuous

MLA

“discontinuous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/discontinuous. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “discontinuous,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/discontinuous.

Source: discontinuous on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.