discontinuous


Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

dis·con·tin·u·ous

 (dĭs′kən-tĭn′yo͞o-əs)
adj.
1.
a. Marked by breaks or interruptions; intermittent: discontinuous applause.
b. Consisting of distinct or unconnected elements, such as the physical features of a landscape.
c. Being without sequential order or coherent form.
2. Mathematics Possessing one or more discontinuities, as a function.

dis′con·tin′u·ous·ly adv.
dis′con·tin′u·ous·ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

discontinuous

(ˌdɪskənˈtɪnjʊəs)
adj
1. characterized by interruptions or breaks; intermittent
2. (Mathematics) maths (of a function or curve) changing suddenly in value for one or more values of the variable or at one or more points. Compare continuous3
ˌdisconˈtinuously adv
ˌdisconˈtinuousness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

dis•con•tin•u•ous

(ˌdɪs kənˈtɪn yu əs)

adj.
1. not continuous; broken; interrupted; intermittent.
2. Math. (of a function at a point) not continuous at the point.
[1660–70; < Medieval Latin discontinuus. See dis-1, continuous]
dis`con•tin′u•ous•ly, adv.
dis`con•tin′u•ous•ness, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.discontinuous - of a function or curve; possessing one or more discontinuities
math, mathematics, maths - a science (or group of related sciences) dealing with the logic of quantity and shape and arrangement
continuous - of a function or curve; extending without break or irregularity
2.discontinuous - not continuing without interruption in time or space; "discontinuous applause"; "the landscape was a discontinuous mosaic of fields and forest areas"; "he received a somewhat haphazard and discontinuous schooling"
broken - not continuous in space, time, or sequence or varying abruptly; "broken lines of defense"; "a broken cable transmission"; "broken sleep"; "tear off the stub above the broken line"; "a broken note"; "broken sobs"
sporadic - recurring in scattered and irregular or unpredictable instances; "a city subjected to sporadic bombing raids"
continuous, uninterrupted - continuing in time or space without interruption; "a continuous rearrangement of electrons in the solar atoms results in the emission of light"- James Jeans; "a continuous bout of illness lasting six months"; "lived in continuous fear"; "a continuous row of warehouses"; "a continuous line has no gaps or breaks in it"; "moving midweek holidays to the nearest Monday or Friday allows uninterrupted work weeks"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

discontinuous

adjective intermittent, interrupted, irregular, disconnected, broken, fitful, spasmodic the discontinuous nature of the country's economic development
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
nespojitý
katkev
diskontinuerlig

discontinuous

[ˌdɪskənˈtɪnjʊəs] ADJ (= interrupted) → interrumpido (Math) [curve] → discontinuo
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

discontinuous

[ˌdɪskənˈtɪnjuəs] adj (= intermittent) → discontinu(e)
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

discontinuous

adj, discontinuously
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

discontinuous

[ˌdɪskənˈtɪnjʊəs] adj (process) → discontinuo/a; (speech) → incoerente
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
Laws of motion of any kind become comprehensible to man only when he examines arbitrarily selected elements of that motion; but at the same time, a large proportion of human error comes from the arbitrary division of continuous motion into discontinuous elements.
But the geographical and climatal changes, which have certainly occurred within recent geological times, must have interrupted or rendered discontinuous the formerly continuous range of many species.
Examining the panels with care I found them discontinuous with the frames.
The authors based their reading comprehension task (using narrative, expository and discontinuous texts) on the situational-model and text-base representations (Kintsch, 1988; 1998).
A film, comprising: a first continuous surface; a discontinuous surface disposed generally parallel to and spaced from the first continuous surface; a plurality of first drains formed in the first continuous surface, each of the plurality of first drains being defined by a first sidewall extending downwardly from the first continuous surface and terminating in a first aperture at a distal end of the first sidewall; a plurality of protrusions extending upwardly from the first continuous surface, each of
It was back to aerospace applications again when Mike Favaloro, president of CompositeTechs, LLC, based in Amesbury, Mass., spoke about A Process for Injection/Compression Overmolding of Continuous Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites featuring a continuous fiber strut bar compression molded in carbon/PEEK towpregs with an integral injection molded boss of discontinuous carbon/PEEK.
Mesh free method discretizes the entire solution domain to independent nodes instead of connecting nodes into the elements, so that mesh free method overcomes the defects of the finite element method which need re-mesh the grid continuously when it is used to solve the dynamic discontinuous boundaries problem such as crack propagation.
These constraints can be leveled by using discontinuous (stepwise) functions to describe piecewise continuous input signals and changes in the structure of the circuit during switching.
A correct evaluation of the risk of occurrence of discontinuous deformations on the surface is one of the major problems of underground mines operating on highly urbanized areas.
At present, circles with a discontinuous working surface are almost not used, since there are a number of unsolved problems of a mechanical nature that arise during their manufacture and operation.
Their topics include friction laws in modeling dynamical systems, the smooth approximation of discontinuous stick-slip solutions, impacts in the chaotic motion of a particle on a non-flat billiard, almost periodic solutions for jumping discontinuous systems, and controlling stochastically excited systems with an approximate discontinuity.