intermittent
Americanadjective
-
stopping or ceasing for a time; alternately ceasing and beginning again.
an intermittent pain.
- Synonyms:
- sporadic, interrupted
-
alternately functioning and not functioning or alternately functioning properly and improperly.
-
(of streams, lakes, or springs) recurrent; showing water only part of the time.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of intermittent
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin intermittent- (stem of intermittēns ), present participle of intermittere “to leave a space between, drop off (for a while)”; see intermit, -ent
Explanation
Reach for the adjective intermittent to describe periodic movement and stopping and starting over a period of time. The adjective intermittent modifies things that work or stop and start at periodic intervals. An interesting use of something intermittent is a metronome, a device that marks off time in music by making a sound in a regular pattern. It provides structure for musicians, especially when there are several instruments all playing different melodies at the same time. Other intermittent things are the windshield wipers on your car — and thank goodness for them when it rains!
Vocabulary lists containing intermittent
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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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.
While Linton has not been diagnosed with an underlying seizure disorder, such as epilepsy, defense attorney Jovan Blacknell said Linton suffered intermittent seizures during her life, including at the time of the wreck.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Several months later, eruptions have weakened to intermittent explosions, but the threat of renewed activity remains.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
Salesforce users ‘may experience severe delays, intermittent errors, or an inability to access some services,’ the company says.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
Armenia, a mostly Christian nation, and majority-Muslim Azerbaijan have had intermittent clashes for more than 35 years, since before the collapse of the Soviet Union, of which both were member republics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Those difficulties of terrain, combined with the state of intermittent warfare that characterized relations between New Guinea bands or villages, account for traditional New Guinea’s linguistic, cultural, and political fragmentation.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
