spasmodic

spas·mod·ic

adj \spaz-ˈmä-dik\

Definition of SPASMODIC

1

a : relating to or affected or characterized by spasm b : resembling a spasm especially in sudden violence <a spasmodic jerk>

2

: acting or proceeding fitfully : intermittent <spasmodic activity>

3

: subject to outbursts of emotional excitement : excitable

— spas·mod·i·cal·ly \-di-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

Examples of SPASMODIC

1. He made only spasmodic attempts to lose weight.
2. <spasmodic problems that we will have to deal with as they crop up>

Origin of SPASMODIC

New Latin spasmodicus, from Greek spasmōdēs, from spasmos

First Known Use: circa 1681

Related to SPASMODIC

Synonyms: aperiodic, casual, catchy, choppy, discontinuous, episodic (also episodical), erratic, intermittent, irregular, occasional, fitful, spastic, sporadic, spotty, unsteady

Antonyms: constant, continuous, habitual, periodic, regular, repeated, steady

Related Words: convulsive, sudden, violent; broken, disconnected, fragmentary, interrupted; aimless, arbitrary, desultory, haphazard, hit-and-miss, hit-or-miss, odd, random, scattered, slapdash, stray; capricious, changeful, changing, flickery, fluctuating, fluid, inconstant, mercurial, mutable, temperamental, uncertain, unpredictable, unsettled, unstable, varying, wavering; changeable, fickle, variable, volatile

Near Antonyms: changeless, equable, even, stable, stationary, uniform; unchanging, unvarying, unwavering; methodical (also methodic), orderly, systematic; unrelenting, unremitting

see all synonyms and antonyms

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See Synonym Discussion at fitful

Rhymes with SPASMODIC

anodic, cathodic, dipodic, ergodic, melodic, monodic, parodic, rhapsodic, saccadic, synodic, threnodic