intermittently

[in-ter-mit-nt-lee]

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.

Other Word Forms

• nonintermittently adverb
• unintermittently adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of intermittently¹

intermittent ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

However, it will not be the first time drivers have used the vests - teams have been testing them intermittently through the year.

From BBC

It's not clear what sparked Wednesday's violence - protests have been taking place intermittently in the region for months, and demands for statehood have gathered greater support.

From BBC

The trawler had engine problems and lost power intermittently.

From BBC

The 160 remaining riders had to contend with rain soon after the start in Nantua and intermittently along the route.

From BBC

Mr Atkinson, who worked at the Examiner for 42 years, believes it was the "unusual" circumstances of the murder which kept it intermittently in the news headlines over the two decades that followed.

From BBC

Related Words

• occasionally 
• periodically 
• sporadically