in·ter·mit·tent

[in-ter-mit-nt]
adjective
1.
stopping or ceasing for a time; alternately ceasing and beginning again: an intermittent pain.
2.
alternately functioning and not functioning or alternately functioning properly and improperly.
3.
(of streams, lakes, or springs) recurrent; showing water only part of the time.

Origin:
1595–1605; < Latin intermittent- (stem of intermittēns) present participle of intermittere to intermit; see -ent

in·ter·mit·tence, in·ter·mit·ten·cy, noun
in·ter·mit·tent·ly, adverb
non·in·ter·mit·tence, noun
non·in·ter·mit·tent, adjective
non·in·ter·mit·tent·ly, adverb
non·in·ter·mit·tent·ness, noun
un·in·ter·mit·tent, adjective
un·in·ter·mit·tent·ly, adverb

continual, continuous, intermittent (see usage note at continual).


1. interrupted, sporadic.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
intermittent (ˌɪntəˈmɪtənt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
occurring occasionally or at regular or irregular intervals; periodic
 
inter'mittence
 
n
 
inter'mittency
 
n
 
inter'mittently
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

intermittent
c.1600, from L. intermittentem (nom. intermittens), prp. of intermittere (see intermission).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

intermittent in·ter·mit·tent (ĭn'tər-mĭt'nt)
adj.

  1. Stopping and starting at intervals.

  2. Marked by intervals of complete quietude occurring between two periods of activity.


in'ter·mit'tence n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
But the bubbles were intermittent and difficult to measure.
Stronger, more consistent winds improve the capacity factor, making turbines
  highly productive and less intermittent.
It is less profitable to integrate them into the grid because of their
  intermittent nature.
Winter shifts gears as the shoreline becomes shrouded in sea mist and
  intermittent pockets of rain.
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