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

But since last fall, it’s been intermittently serving up ads, part of a pilot program being tested on some of Samsung’s smart fridges sold in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

"Our study suggests using them intermittently, then activating suction at intervals, might be better. That's because mosquitoes don't tend to stick around their target when both clues aren't used at the same time."

From Science Daily • Mar. 22, 2026

As children, Mrie and her sister, Alia, were obliged to plead with their father for money, which he supplied only intermittently.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

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 • Feb. 13, 2026

The tents, no more than 650 horizontal feet away, were only intermittently visible through the whiteout.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• occasionally
• periodically
• sporadically