HIT-AND-MISS Synonyms: 76 Similar and Opposite Words

hit-and-miss

adjective

Definition of hit-and-miss

as in haphazard

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of hit-and-miss Drew Allar, Penn State Allar has prototypical size, tantalizing arm strength and… well, hit-and-miss production. — Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 8 Apr. 2026 Alabama transfer Isaiah Bond was more hit-and-miss, and Oregon State’s Silas Bolden had little impact other than letting punts bounce for extra yards time after time. — Kirk Bohls, Houston Chronicle, 9 Mar. 2026 But overall, styling is hit-and-miss on this one in my humble opinion. — New Atlas, 4 Mar. 2026 And to say its fusillade of jokes is hit-and-miss would also be a charitable take. — Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hit-and-miss

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hit-and-miss

Adjective

After that, Grace all but disappears from Crystal Lake, exposing the haphazard plotting of a show that refuses to commit.

— Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
Violent crime, once almost unknown on the island, is rising sharply—another sign of the state’s haphazard retreat.

— Will Freeman, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of haphazard

Adjective

The extra software gimmicks, however, remain a bit hit-or-miss.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 22 Sep. 2026
The problem is that those splash plays and big weeks usually happen on fantasy benches because Shaheed is far too hit-or-miss (or miss or miss) to be counted on as more than a desperation play.

— Gary Davenport, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of hit-or-miss

Adjective

The constraint of the task encourages a deeper looking, and gives us, part of a society suspicious of aimless activity, an excuse to mess around and explore a strange world.

— Joseph Ogilvy, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2026
But the remainder feels leftover — formless and aimless — like tinfoil stretched around a clunky, conventional mass.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of aimless

Adjective

Sixty or so people formed a desultory circle in front of the birds or slumped on bleachers hung with a banner that read the world is watching.

— J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
Can anything more than the most desultory gesture at a novel emerge while these questions go unanswered?

— Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of desultory

Adjective

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found al-Faraj’s detention arbitrary, according to a report published in December 2024.

— Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2026
Someone set the arbitrary number at ten, and the whole point of the exercise is to whittle the list down to ten.

— Brian Moylan, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of arbitrary

Adjective

Timeline Storms will start to arrive Friday, with stray showers in isolated areas and maximum temperatures 5 to 10 degrees below normal, according to the forecast from the National Weather Service.

— Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
Enter Laika, a little stray dog from Moscow who was about to make history—and pay a terrible price for it.

— Ethan Teekah All, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of stray

Browse Nearby Words

hit

hit-and-miss

hit-and-run

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Style

“Hit-and-miss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hit-and-miss. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of hit-and-miss

adjective

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