How to Use discrete in a Sentence

discrete

adjective
  • There would be fewer discrete flight lines.
    — Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 14 Jan. 2026
  • In discrete-only mode, that dropped to just over four and a half hours.
    — Peter Bright, Ars Technica, 27 May 2018
  • Here are the best self-defense weapons that are discrete and easy to acquire.
    — John Thompson, Men's Health, 27 July 2023
  • This is because beds are not cleared, turned and planted with discrete crops.
    — Adrian Higgins, Washington Post, 14 July 2021
  • For dense, discrete sunspots, on the other hand, lasers are magic.
    — Jolene Edgar, Allure, 9 Mar. 2018
  • Each daub can seem to record a discrete look, at a moment isolated in time.
    — Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2011
  • This told them there was something hard and discrete at the center of the proton.
    — Amina Khan, latimes.com, 29 Mar. 2018
  • However, these rules are discrete and rigid.
    — Eric Siegel, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
  • After all, the wall is not a solid object, it’s made up of discrete atoms.
    — Rhett Allain, WIRED, 24 Jan. 2025
  • Each thing in the space shines with its own discrete significance.
    — Kyle Chayka, The New Republic, 15 May 2020
  • If so, then perhaps the discrete case could lead the way to a smooth solution as well.
    — Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 20 Jan. 2026
  • On top of that, a discrete snap closure pocket is tucked into the back along the right hand vent.
    — Brad Lanphear, Men's Health, 28 June 2023
  • Warfare is now a persistent state, not a discrete event.
    — Diane Brady, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Human awareness of any discrete moment is thought to max out at a tenth of a second.
    — Tom Vanderbilt, Harper’s Magazine , 13 Mar. 2023
  • Humans decided to group the rise and fall of the sun into discrete days and weeks.
    — New York Times, 20 July 2021
  • There has been thought put in to this to keep it as functional but as discrete as possible.
    — Ewan Spence, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2022
  • According to this model, breakups are not a discrete event but a series of stages.
    — Isle McElroy, The Atlantic, 16 Feb. 2024
  • All of the new uniforms have an interesting look, but a discrete one.
    — Emily Price, Fortune, 27 Dec. 2017
  • The risk of nuclear disaster tends to shift in more discrete steps.
    — WIRED, 24 Jan. 2023
  • Scherzer and the Blue Jays will have to figure out a way to be more discrete.
    — Peter Chawaga, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
  • The easy to use vape can travel with you from beach to boardwalk to home, for a discrete tropical high.
    — Emily Earlenbaugh, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
  • That’s no hardship—far from it, as there are discrete buttons and dials for all the controls.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 10 June 2026
  • Or even a lobby per se—just a discrete private entrance with a 24-hour concierge.
    — Alison S. Cohn, Harper's BAZAAR, 8 Sep. 2022
  • These are not discrete incidents.
    — Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2025
  • Unlike discrete surfaces, smooth surfaces don’t have edges.
    — Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 20 Jan. 2026
  • Decision making, in this way of thinking, isn’t a discrete event.
    — David Brooks, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Opt for bigger hanging bulbs, discrete flickers, or even hanging sheaths.
    — Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 3 Apr. 2026
  • To get a discrete surface, take a finite collection of points and connect them by lines to form a shape with flat faces.
    — Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 20 Jan. 2026
  • The country’s 22 biggest cities now hold three discrete rounds of land sales each year, rather than dribbling out lots.
    — Jonathan Cheng, WSJ, 8 Feb. 2022
  • For both players there were discrete moments when victory seemed inevitable.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'discrete.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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