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

Explanation

The adverb intermittently describes something that starts, then stops, then starts up again. If you studied intermittently last night, that means sometimes you studied but sometimes you took breaks to do other things. If something happens intermittently, it doesn’t happen all the time or in a steady flow, but goes in fits and starts. It might rain intermittently on Monday or your car might intermittently refuse to start. Make sure you spell intermittently with two “t”s. You can blame the Latin for that: intermittently evolved from the Latin root intermittĕre, which means “to cease.”

Example Sentences

Even domestic messaging platforms, such as Rubika and Bale, work only intermittently.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

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

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

But though she worked intermittently on the square all summer, autumn found it only half done.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

Related Words

• occasionally
• periodically
• sporadically