OFF AND ON Synonyms: 41 Similar and Opposite Words

off and on

adverb

Definition of off and on

as in on and off

not constantly or steadily over a period of time They've been dating off and on for almost a year.

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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 off and on Rain showers will continue off and on Monday, with the rain beginning to taper Monday night. — Sarah Wroblewski, CBS News, 27 Sep. 2026 Turn your home’s lights off and on, and connect it to your home’s security cameras to keep a watchful eye. — Katrina Cossey, Parents, 19 Sep. 2026 Ohtani was seen shaking out his arm between swings and hobbling off and on for months. — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026 Repeatedly taking your shoes off and on is time-consuming and exasperating. — R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 22 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for off and on

Recent Examples of Synonyms for off and on

Adverb

She is perhaps best known for Trifles, an adaptation of her own reporting on a particularly grisly murder case and a withering examination of the violence that sporadically bursts from women in a world where men do violence daily.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2026
Shortly after, the parents noticed that his left eye was sporadically crossing.

— Luke Chinman, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of sporadically

Adverb

And then there is the ever-increasing atomization across media, with political discourse splaying out across countless newsletters that are only intermittently in conversation with one another.

— Dan Adler, Vanity Fair, 2 Nov. 2026
Running or Leaking Toilet Some toilets leak or run intermittently, quietly enough to go unnoticed.

— Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of intermittently

Adverb

Planetary conjunctions occur periodically, but a conjunction between Jupiter — the night sky’s third-brightest natural object after the moon and Venus — and Mars only happens once every few years, according to Betts.

— Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
After that, the rate can adjust periodically based on changes in a benchmark interest rate, potentially increasing the borrower's monthly payment.

— Mike Winters, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of periodically

Adverb

Steven Pasquale, prolific and robust as an actor and here directing for the first time, has put his finger on something in turning Odets’s agitprop one-act, often referenced but seldom performed, into a kind of workers’ dream ballet.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2026
Boot adds that Trump seldom has a cross word for any dictator while regularly berating democratic allies.

— Tom Jurkowsky, Baltimore Sun, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of seldom

Browse Nearby Words

offal

off and on

off base

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“Off and on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off%20and%20on. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of off and on

adverb

Example Sentences

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