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intermittently

[in-ter-mit-nt]

adjective

stopping or ceasing for a time; alternately ceasing and beginning again: an intermittent pain.

alternately functioning and not functioning or alternately functioning properly and improperly.

(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

Related forms

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

EXPAND

non·in·ter·mit·tent·ness, noun

un·in·ter·mit·tent, adjective

un·in·ter·mit·tent·ly, adverb

COLLAPSE

Can be confused: continual, continuous, intermittent (see usage note at continual).

Synonyms
1. interrupted, sporadic.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To intermittently

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Intermittently is always a great word to know.

So is interrobang. Does it mean:

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

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Example Sentences

In the past, the collection has been broken up and shown intermittently between visiting and special shows.

Gusts of wind roil flakes of snow that intermittently knit heaven to earth.

The chanting, intermittently rapping crowd had a case.

EXPAND

In the past, the collection has been broken up and shown intermittently between visiting and special shows.

Gusts of wind roil flakes of snow that intermittently knit heaven to earth.

The chanting, intermittently rapping crowd had a case.

Intermittently they paused to crane and ogle, scanning the ground ahead for a glimpse of their prey.

Creamy yellow flowers appear in spring, then intermittently throu more add to my plant list.

The eruption continued intermittently for four months.

The ground has been shaking intermittently ever since.

Some people need to take time to heal, either now or later or intermittently as needed.

The economic news is not catastrophic, merely intermittently depressing.

In mild-winter climates, they continue to bloom intermittently through the rest of year.

Groups of genes thought to work in unison did so only intermittently.

Their program was varied, but only intermittently interesting.

Recession has contributed to an intermittently weak oil price and a warm winter has depressed demand for gas.

Creamy yellow flowers appear in spring, then intermittently through fall.

After several weeks of problem-free operation, the computer starting intermittently spitting discs out again.

He has put together a readable and intermittently thoughtful account of what happened.

Blooms intermittently all year, more heavily in fall and winter.

The approach was slow, inefficient, and only intermittently successful.

Condensation formed clouds inside and precipitation would occur intermittently in some portions of the floor.

Sure it might take a week or longer to declare a winner, but playing intermittently is better than not playing at all.

Telephone and power lines work intermittently at best, and often not at all.

They finally get the inverter to come on intermittently.

The train blasts out a shrill whistle which my nephew imitates intermittently for the next couple of hours with piercing accuracy.

Ministers intermittently manoeuvre to inherit their party's leadership.

Windmills and solar panels provide power only intermittently.

The de facto government intermittently suspended hostile media.

Having him completely out of your life will be much easier than intermittently dealing with a nut.

And it can last anywhere from minutes to hours or can occur intermittently over the course of several days.

All bloom intermittently during the warmest months.

Don't sanction it,'' were heard intermittently inside.

Four of the bells had been rung intermittently in the last century.

Doing so will intermittently lead to the discovery of additional abilities and upgrades that will aid you in further exploration.

Intermittently it is gay and lighthearted and graceful but it does not sustain the mood too well.

Medina had worked for a subcontractor intermittently for three years.

He was also deputy borough president intermittently during a period spanning more than a decade.

The naturalists observed the pronghorn intermittently throughout the night, but they were not the only ones watching.

Neubert only intermittently proved able to establish character through movement.

It's also intermittently frivolous, blinkered and unfair.

Ronstadt that one has only heard intermittently on her earlier records.

These other fish roes are also available intermittently through the year, unlike shad, whose season ends by mid-June.

Crusaders have intermittently tried to reform the system.

Goldberg shape this intermittently funny but sluggish evening of comic portraiture.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

intermittent (ˌɪntəˈmɪt^ənt)

—*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
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

intermittent

c.1600, from L. intermittentem (nom. intermittens), prp. of intermittere (see intermission).

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

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

Stopping and starting at intervals.
Marked by intervals of complete quietude occurring between two periods of activity.

in'ter·mit'tence n.

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"The mastery of one's phonemes may be compared to the violinist's mastery of fingering. The violin string lends itself to a continuous gradation of tones, but the musician learns the discrete intervals at which to stop the string in order to play the conventional notes. We sound our phonemes like poor violinists, approximating each time to a fancied norm, and we receive our neighbor's renderings indulgently, mentally rectifying the more glaring inaccuracies."

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