discrete

Academic Word List, sublist 5.

About 9.50 uses per million words.

Meaning

1. adjective Separate; distinct; individual; non-continuous.

   a government with three discrete divisions

2. adjective That can be perceived individually, not as connected to, or part of, something else.
3. adjective Consisting of or permitting only distinct values drawn from a finite, countable set.

   a discrete sum

4. adjective Having separate electronic components, such as individual diodes, transistors and resistors, as opposed to integrated circuitry.
5. adjective Having separate and independent channels of audio, as opposed to multiplexed stereo or quadraphonic, or other multi-channel sound.
6. adjective Having each singleton subset open: said of a topological space or a topology.
7. adjective Disjunctive; containing a disjunctive or discretive clause.

   "I resign my life, but not my honour" is a discrete proposition.

8. adjective Obsolete form of discreet.

Similar words

separate distinct separated segregated different differential private discretionary independently stand-alone

Often followed by

and time random values fourier event or units set

Word family

discretely discreteness discretenesses discretion discretionary