Synonyms

on-again, off-again

American

[on-uh-gen awf-uh-gen, of-, awn-] / ˈɒn əˌgɛn ˈɔf əˌgɛn, ˈɒf-, ˈɔn- /

Or on-again-off-again

adjective

being in force or inoperative by turns, especially spasmodically and unpredictably.

an on-again, off-again romance.

off again, on again Idioms

see off and on, def. 2.

Etymology

Origin of on-again, off-again

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It had planned ahead and weathered the on-again, off-again trade war.

From BBC

A slow-developing, on-again, off-again love-and-marriage arc with schoolteacher Louisa Glasson, played by the divine Caroline Catz, made every season finale a cliffhanger.

From Los Angeles Times

Paul Meeks, managing director at Freedom Capital Markets, told MarketWatch that one area he’ll be watching closely next year is the on-again, off-again export of Nvidia’s GPUs to China.

From MarketWatch

“In this environment—between the government shutdown; lack of data coming from the government; on-again, off-again nature of the tariffs; trade uncertainties; all of those things—it’s been difficult for anyone to do forecasting,” Shay said.

From Barron's

The on-again, off-again trade war between the U.S. and China this year has been felt around the world.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023