intermittently

American  

[in-ter-mit-nt-lee] / ˌɪn tərˈmɪt nt li /

adverb

1. at occasional or uneven intervals.

   This species of flounder spawns mainly during the summer and early fall, but may spawn intermittently throughout the year.

   In this parched landscape, water flows intermittently, with lakes and streams forming in the wet season and disappearing in the dry season.

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Other Word Forms

• nonintermittently adverb
• unintermittently adverb

Etymology

Origin of intermittently

intermittent ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

The streetlights and the lights of passing trucks and cars flashed intermittently into the car.

From Literature

Farmers and livestock growers last month scaled back a protest over subsidies and emergency support payments that had intermittently blocked highways nationwide since the end of November.

From Barron's

While the writing on the “39” side is generally sharp, the subject matter is only intermittently compelling.

From The Wall Street Journal

Investors have intermittently sung the praises of global diversification, though stocks elsewhere languished for years while American equities reliably pulled ahead.

From The Wall Street Journal

And dispatchable resources like natural gas plants are being retired and replaced by solar and wind systems that operate intermittently.

From Barron's

Related Words

• occasionally
• periodically
• sporadically