intermittent

[ in-ter-mit-nt ]

/ ˌɪn tərˈmɪt 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.

Words nearby intermittent

interminable, intermingle, intermission, intermissive, intermit, intermittent, intermittent acute porphyria, intermittent claudication, intermittent cramp, intermittent current, intermittent explosive disorder

Origin of intermittent

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

SYNONYMS FOR intermittent

1 interrupted, sporadic.

OTHER WORDS FROM intermittent

in·ter·mit·tence, in·ter·mit·ten·cy, nounin·ter·mit·tent·ly, adverbnon·in·ter·mit·tence, nounnon·in·ter·mit·tent, adjective

non·in·ter·mit·tent·ly, adverbnon·in·ter·mit·tent·ness, nounun·in·ter·mit·tent, adjectiveun·in·ter·mit·tent·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH intermittent

continual continuous intermittent (see usage note at continual)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for intermittency

The small hole causes an intermittency in the current which converts the arrangement into a break.
Hertzian Wave Wireless Telegraphy|John Ambrose Fleming
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
Disappearance of the species from the Wakarusa may have resulted from increased siltation and intermittency of flow.
Fishes of the Wakarusa River in Kansas|James E. Deacon
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

British Dictionary definitions for intermittency

intermittent

/ (ˌɪntəˈmɪtənt) /

adjective

occurring occasionally or at regular or irregular intervals; periodic

Derived forms of intermittent

intermittence 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

Medical definitions for intermittency

intermittent

[ ĭn′tər-mĭt′nt ]

adj.

Stopping and starting at intervals.

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

Other words from intermittent

in′ter•mit′tence n.