INTERMITTENT Synonyms: 95 Similar and Opposite Words

intermittent

adjective

ˌin-tər-ˈmi-tᵊnt

Definition of intermittent

as in recurrent

occurring or appearing at intervals intermittent showers had me opening and closing my umbrella all day long

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in sporadic

lacking in steadiness or regularity of occurrence the breadwinner's intermittent employment put the family in a difficult position financially

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of intermittent China’s renewable sector, like the UK’s but on a larger scale, also faces storage and connection problems, because renewables are intermittent and often far from population centres. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 15 Aug. 2026 The fact that the warning clears after a restart suggests an intermittent fault rather than a major component failure. — John Paul Senior Manager Public Affairs and Traffic Safety Aaa Northeast, Hartford Courant, 15 Aug. 2026 An intermittent stream of cars drove toward the 53rd Street Bridge, the last exit from Rocky Ripple into Indianapolis. — Tilly Robinson, IndyStar, 15 Aug. 2026 Construction vehicles beeped and chugged, and the intermittent buzz of saws mixed with the clang of heavy equipment. — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for intermittent

Recent Examples of Synonyms for intermittent

Adjective

His new marrow engrafted quickly, and aside from some recurrent adenovirus, his recovery went remarkably well.

— Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 12 Aug. 2026
Joan Baez, yet another famous fan, emerges as one of the diary’s recurrent characters, and a kind of guiding spirit for this metamorphosis.

— Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of recurrent

Adjective

Not all are tankers; many operators are still deterred from using the strait because of sporadic Iranian drone attacks.

— Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2026
Players often arrive back from their summer breaks with a base level of fitness — enhanced by light and sporadic individual training during their holidays — and their natural athlete’s stamina.

— George Edwards, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of sporadic

Adjective

How Recurring Revenue Is The Pump There’s only one kind of funding that reliably shows up in year seven—recurring, unrestricted revenue.

— Sarah Evans, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Excluding non-recurring events, the magnitude of the average S & P 500 earnings surprise for the quarter is still about 11%.

— Sarah Min, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of recurring

Adjective

Brown has had occasional rough moments during camp, but coach Zac Taylor wasn’t hitting the panic button after a dozen practices and two live series.

— Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
Chinese authorities have long seen the deaths of popular former leaders as a potential trigger for a surge of public emotion and an occasional catalyst for instability when remembrance of the dead turns into criticism of those in power.

— Reuters, NBC news, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of occasional

Adjective

Real-time tracking cuts costly checks Nuclear facilities currently rely on a combination of instruments, physical security measures, manual sampling and periodic shutdowns to determine how much nuclear material is present and where it is located.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 18 Aug. 2026
While Western intelligence agencies have debated periodic reports of Iranian scientists attending North Korean nuclear tests, Pyongyang’s willingness to proliferate nuclear infrastructure elsewhere is beyond doubt.

— Charlie Campbell, Time, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of periodic

Adjective

The sudden loss of mass means the strength of the primary star’s gravity drops suddenly, causing the secondary companion to get flung out into space at dizzying speeds.

— Phil Plait, Scientific American, 14 Aug. 2026
But the sudden reversal in many of its biggest stock bets, compounded by losses on the other side of its portfolio and the use of leverage, quickly turned into a liquidity crunch.

— Yun Li, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of sudden

Browse Nearby Words

intermitted

intermittent

intermittently

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“Intermittent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intermittent. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of intermittent

adjective

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