intermittent

[ in-ter-mit-nt ]

See synonyms for intermittent on Thesaurus.com

adjective

stopping or ceasing for a time; alternately ceasing and beginning again: an intermittent pain.
alternately functioning and not functioning or alternately functioning properly and improperly.

(of streams, lakes, or springs) recurrent; showing water only part of the time.

Origin of intermittent

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin intermittent- (stem of intermittēns ), present participle of intermittere “to leave a space between, drop off (for a while)”; see intermit, -ent

Other words for intermittent

1	interrupted, sporadic

See synonyms for intermittent on Thesaurus.com

Other words from intermittent

in·ter·mit·tence, in·ter·mit·ten·cy, noun
in·ter·mit·tent·ly, adverb
non·in·ter·mit·tence, noun
non·in·ter·mit·tent, adjective
non·in·ter·mit·tent·ness, noun
un·in·ter·mit·tent, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use intermittent in a sentence

Meanwhile, on-site carbon capture tools may offer promising ways of cleaning up certain tricky sectors, like cement and steel production, or to provide carbon-free electricity from natural gas plants when intermittent solar and wind sources flag.
What Musk’s $100 million carbon capture prize could mean | James Temple | January 22, 2021 | MIT Technology Review
The snow became lighter and more intermittent, but temperatures plunged through the 20s and winds increased to 20 to 25 mph.
How a surprise snowstorm almost spoiled Kennedy’s inauguration 60 years ago | Kevin Ambrose, Jason Samenow | January 19, 2021 | Washington Post
They're also needed to smooth out the intermittent power generated by windmills and solar panels.
Battery prices have fallen 88 percent over the last decade | Timothy B. Lee | December 18, 2020 | Ars Technica
Each bottle will fuel the heater for intermittent use for 18 to 24 hours.
How to survive a snowstorm from inside your truck | Keith McCafferty | November 25, 2020 | Popular-Science
Be aware that intermittent engine use allows snow that has blown into the engine compartment to melt and refreeze on the wires, possibly impairing operation later.
How to survive a snowstorm from inside your truck | Keith McCafferty | November 25, 2020 | Popular-Science

I hope to hear that you have been going on well despite the cruel, restless winds and sad intermittence of sunshine.
George Eliot's Life, Vol. III (of 3) | George Eliot
Such intermittence of consciousness may last not only days, but months, and even years; the change may even become permanent.
The Riddle of the Universe at the close of the nineteenth century | Ernst Haeckel
It would seem that we must seek for some special cause of the pleasurable effect of intermittence in certain cases.
The Methods of Ethics | Henry Sidgwick
However, since we left Moscow he had had frequent cardiac intermittence, accompanied sometimes by sharp pains along the sternum.
Life of Elie Metchnikoff, 1845-1916 | Olga Metchnikoff
In 1881, during relapsing fever, I had severe cardiac intermittence, very fatiguing and only relieved by small doses of digitalin.
Life of Elie Metchnikoff, 1845-1916 | Olga Metchnikoff

British Dictionary definitions for intermittent

intermittent

/ (ˌɪntəˈmɪtənt) /

adjective

occurring occasionally or at regular or irregular intervals; periodic

Derived forms of intermittent

intermittence or intermittency, noun
intermittently, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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