intermittent

intermittent
I
(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)
adj. fitful, off-and-on, recurrent; periodic, discontinuous, interrupted, broken; flickering.
II
(Roget's IV) modif.
Syn. periodic, alternate, shifting, coming and going, recurrent, sporadic, irregular, broken, seasonal, rhythmic, serial, epochal, cyclical, cyclic, discontinuous, interrupted, every other, spasmodic, on and off, fitful, occasional, now and then, by snatches*, here and there*, on-again off-again*; see also irregular 1 .
Ant. constant*, lasting, incessant.
Syn.- intermittent and recurrent both apply to something that stops and starts, or disappears and reappears, from time to time, but the former usually stresses the breaks or pauses, and the latter, the repetition or return [ an intermittent fever, recurrent attacks of the hives ] ; periodic refers to something that recurs at more or less regular intervals [periodic economic crises ] ; alternate is usually used of two recurrent things that succeed each other in turns [alternate stripes of blue and white, a life of alternate sorrow and joy ]
III
(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.
sporadic, irregular, periodic, off and on, broken, now and then, occasional, alternate, infrequent.
ANT.: regular, constant
IV
(Roget's Thesaurus II) adjective Happening or appearing now and then: fitful, occasional, periodic, periodical, sporadic. Informal: on-again, off-again. See CONTINUE.

English dictionary for students. 2013.

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  • intermittent — intermittent, ente [ ɛ̃tɛrmitɑ̃, ɑ̃t ] adj. • 1559; lat. intermittens, de intermittere « discontinuer » ♦ Qui s arrête et reprend par intervalles. ⇒ discontinu, irrégulier . Fièvre intermittente. ⇒ erratique, rémittent. Pouls intermittent. Les… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Intermittent — du spectacle Équipe de tournage cinéma Un intermittent du spectacle est une personne qui travaille par intermittence (alternance de périodes d emploi et de chômage) pour des entreprises du spectacle (cinéma, télévision, théâtre ou autre spectacle …   Wikipédia en Français

  • intermittent — intermittent, recurrent, periodic, alternate mean recurring or reappearing more or less regularly but in interrupted sequence. Something is intermittent which from time to time is omitted or disappears but always returns {an intermittent fever}… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Intermittent — In ter*mit tent, a. [L. intermittens, entis, p. pr. of intermittere: cf. F. intermittent.] Coming and going at intervals; alternating; recurrent; periodic; as, an intermittent fever. Boyle. [1913 Webster] {Intermittent fever} (Med.), a disease… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • intermittent — intermittent, ente (in tèr mi ttan, ttan t ) adj. 1°   Qui discontinue et reprend par intervalle. •   Elle [la cascade] n a qu une plainte intermittente et douce, Selon qu elle rencontre ou la pierre ou la mousse, LAMART. Jocel. VI, 224.… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • intermittent — [in΄tər mit′ nt] adj. [L intermittens, prp. of intermittere: see INTERMIT] stopping and starting at intervals; pausing from time to time; periodic intermittence n. intermittently adv. SYN. INTERMITTENT and RECURRENT both apply to something that… …   English World dictionary

  • Intermittent — In ter*mit tent, n. (Med.) An intermittent fever or disease. Dunglison. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • intermittent — Intermittent, [intermitt]ente. adj. Qui discontinuë. Il n a guere d usage que dans ces phrases. Poulx intermittent. fievre intermittente, qui se disent d un poulx dont les battemens cessent par intervalle, & d une fievre qui n est pas reglée,… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • intermittent — I adjective alternate, broken, cyclic, cyclical, desultory, discontinuous, fitful, flickering, fluctuating, infrequent, intermitting, interrupted, irregular, nonuniform, occasional, periodic, recurrent, recurring, remittent, rhythmic, seasonal,… …   Law dictionary

  • intermittent — (adj.) c.1600, from L. intermittentem (nom. intermittens), prp. of intermittere (see INTERMISSION (Cf. intermission)). Related: Intermittently …   Etymology dictionary

  • intermittent — meaning ‘occurring at intervals’, is spelt ent …   Modern English usage

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