intermittent

[in-ter-mit-nt]

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

1595–1605; < Latin intermittent- (stem of intermittēns) present participle of intermittere to intermit; see -ent

Related formsin·ter·mit·tence, in·ter·mit·ten·cy, nounin·ter·mit·tent·ly, adverbnon·in·ter·mit·tence, nounnon·in·ter·mit·tent, adjectivenon·in·ter·mit·tent·ly, adverbnon·in·ter·mit·tent·ness, nounun·in·ter·mit·tent, adjectiveun·in·ter·mit·tent·ly, adverb

Can be confusedcontinual continuous intermittent (see usage note at continual)

Synonyms for intermittent

1. interrupted, sporadic.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for intermittency

Historical Examples of intermittency

The precise character of the sound depends entirely upon the rapidity of the intermittency.
The Romance of War Inventions
Thomas W. Corbin
The intermittency of the social life, on the other hand, is inevitable; even the most idealistic religions cannot escape it.
The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life
Emile Durkheim
The only things which make intimacy with a woman agreeable are difficulty and intermittency.
The Career of Katherine Bush
Elinor Glyn
List any demonstrable effects of intermittency of streams on fish distribution within the area.
Fishes of Chautauqua, Cowley and Elk Counties, Kansas
Artie L. Metcalf
Variable climate characteristic of the region studied causes recurrent floods and intermittency in streams.
Fishes of Chautauqua, Cowley and Elk Counties, Kansas
Artie L. Metcalf

British Dictionary definitions for intermittency

intermittent

adjective

occurring occasionally or at regular or irregular intervals; periodic

Derived Formsintermittence or intermittency, nounintermittently, 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

Word Origin and History for intermittency

intermittent

adj.

c.1600, from Latin intermittentem (nominative intermittens), present participle of intermittere (see intermission). Related: Intermittently.

intermittency in Medicine

intermittent

[ĭn′tər-mĭt′nt]

adj.

Stopping and starting at intervals.

Marked by intervals of complete quietude occurring between two periods of activity.

Related formsin′ter•mit′tence n.