discontinuous

Name: discontinuous, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

adj

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“discontinuous” has 19 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #44,743. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#44,743
frequency rank, English: 3,470
“D” headwords: 19
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - having breaks or interruptions; intermittent

Corpus desk

Index EN-discontinuous · discontinuous · English

discontinuous · rank #44,743 · 19 variants · 0 confusables

FREQ-MID #44,743
LEN-MEGA 13 letters
VOW-6 6 vowels
CONFUS-0 No pairs
VAR-HIGH 19 variants
BOOK-MID 3,470
PHOTO-FINISH Dionysus

Nearest frequency peer: Dionysus (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Dimitrov

55,261
dings

55,260
Dionysus

55,259
discontinuo…

55,258
docklands

55,257
dolomite

55,256

What this shows “discontinuous” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Key facts for discontinuous
Property	Value
Headword	discontinuous
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
Letters	13
Frequency rank	#44,743
Misspellings tracked	19
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “discontinuous”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).discontinuouslands here:

#44,743

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Dionysus” (#44,742), “docklands” (#44,744), “dings” (#44,741). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “discontinuous” is #44,743. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 19 spelling variants around discontinuous, anadjective. Corpus frequency is #44,743 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for discontinuous, with forms such as "ddiscontinuous", "dicsontinuous", and "disccontinuous". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From dis- + continuous. The correct English form is discontinuous, spelled D-I-S-C-O-N-T-I-N-U-O-U-S.

Definition

1
having breaks or interruptions; intermittent
2
having at least one discontinuity

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how discontinuous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

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

Etymology

From dis- + continuous.

Synonyms

broken fitful catchy discontinuous intermissive intermittent patchy spasmodic stop-start

Antonyms

continuous

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

ddiscontinuous
dicsontinuous
disccontinuous
discnotinuous
disconitnuous
disconntinuous
discontinnuous
discontinouus
discontinuosu
discontinuouss
discontinuuos
discontiunous
discontniuous
disconttinuous
discotninuous
disocntinuous
disscontinuous
dsicontinuous
idscontinuous

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of discontinuous - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Edit distance from "discontinuous"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "discontinuous"?

"discontinuous" is spelled D-I-S-C-O-N-T-I-N-U-O-U-S.

What does "discontinuous" mean?

As an adjective, "discontinuous" means: having breaks or interruptions; intermittent

What are common misspellings of "discontinuous"?

Common misspellings include "ddiscontinuous", "dicsontinuous", "disccontinuous", "discnotinuous", "disconitnuous". The correct spelling is "discontinuous".

What is the origin of the word "discontinuous"?

From dis- + continuous. See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "discontinuous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

expropriation#44,768 glorification#44,814 impressionism#44,860 undisciplined#44,546

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (19 here; floor ≥5).

flamethrower19 variants unobstructed19 variants synchrotron19 variants subjectively19 variants