as in off and on
not constantly or steadily over a period of time
It's been raining on and off all afternoon.
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Dissimilar Words
as in recurrent
occurring or appearing at intervals
an on-and-off friendship over the years
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of on and off
Arkansas Online, 30 May 2026
Upgraded features include enhanced on-and-off loading, including the ability for families to roll strollers directly into the glass cabin with ease.
—Carly Caramanna, Travel + Leisure, 29 May 2026
Trump returned Friday to his on-and-off demand for the removal of the cache as part of a deal.
—Michelle L. Price, Chicago Tribune, 29 May 2026
Early voting in the June 9 primary had started Tuesday morning and was one factor some Republican senators cited for opposing the redistricting, which had dragged on through weeks of on-and-off debate.
—Gavin Jackson, NPR, 26 May 2026
LaBeouf and on-and-off girlfriend Mia Goth welcomed a daughter in 2022.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 23 May 2026
So having that sort of quiet moment in all of the chaos [with on-and-off screen love Charlie Heaton] was such a gift and an opportunity.
—Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 22 May 2026
The holiday weekend, however, is looking unsettled at the moment, with on-and-off rain and below normal temperatures.
—Justin Lewis, CBS News, 20 May 2026
This is an incredible show to watch as preparation for the moments your friends come to you to talk about their on-and-off situationships.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 15 May 2026
Adjective
Trump returned Friday to his on-and-off demand for the removal of the cache as part of a deal.
—Arkansas Online, 30 May 2026
Upgraded features include enhanced on-and-off loading, including the ability for families to roll strollers directly into the glass cabin with ease.
—Carly Caramanna, Travel + Leisure, 29 May 2026
Trump returned Friday to his on-and-off demand for the removal of the cache as part of a deal.
—Michelle L. Price, Chicago Tribune, 29 May 2026
Early voting in the June 9 primary had started Tuesday morning and was one factor some Republican senators cited for opposing the redistricting, which had dragged on through weeks of on-and-off debate.
—Gavin Jackson, NPR, 26 May 2026
LaBeouf and on-and-off girlfriend Mia Goth welcomed a daughter in 2022.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 23 May 2026
So having that sort of quiet moment in all of the chaos [with on-and-off screen love Charlie Heaton] was such a gift and an opportunity.
—Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 22 May 2026
The holiday weekend, however, is looking unsettled at the moment, with on-and-off rain and below normal temperatures.
—Justin Lewis, CBS News, 20 May 2026
This is an incredible show to watch as preparation for the moments your friends come to you to talk about their on-and-off situationships.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 15 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for on and off
Adverb
-
Injuries limited him to 36 games last season and various ailments have dogged him off and on the past few years.—
Greg Cote
May 25,
Miami Herald,
25 May 2026
-
If your Fingerling is not responding, try turning your pet off and on.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
More sustained multi-year funding streams are needed to mitigate and respond to recurrent outbreaks.—
Maryanne Murray Buechner,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
-
The idea originated with Carolyn Miller’s 1984 essay Genre as Social Action, which describes genres as typified rhetorical actions based on recurrent situations.—
Tham Thi Nguyen,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
26 May 2026
Adverb
-
Drone strikes on the UAE are still occurring sporadically, but the wide-scale alerts of the early conflict have ceased — along with the associated distress.—
Melanie Swan,
CNN Money,
1 June 2026
-
Tea olive can be grown as a 10-20 foot shrub or tree, blooming in spring, summer, and sporadically throughout the year.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
The Bell Street Bridge encampment was prioritized for closure as part of Downtown Rising – the first phase of Atlanta Rising, a multi-year campaign launched in 2025 to end unsheltered homelessness citywide and make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring.—
Emily McLeod,
CBS News,
7 Mar. 2026
-
This was and is a non-recurring, cyclical business totally dependent on transaction volumes, which fluctuate with economic cycles and interest rates.—
Josh Brown,Sean Russo,
CNBC,
15 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
If a number is misrouted, unreachable or intermittently dropping, the project might be technically closed while the business is fully exposed.—
Liam Dunne,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
-
Where the impact was expected to be heaver was in the Sierra Nevada, where rain and snow showers were expected intermittently through Thursday night.—
Rick Hurd,
Mercury News,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
Despite years of new leadership, plans to revive the company, new share offerings, and periodic efforts by folks on WallStreetBets to juice the stock gain, GameStop has never come close to reaching those dizzying heights again.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
29 May 2026
-
By combining the visual splendor and thrills of the cinema with a more extensive, intimate view into the character’s daily life previously only seen in the novels, the new video game version of 007 provides more of everything, and may not be fully reliant on periodic installments to dole out bliss.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
28 May 2026
Adverb
-
The Missourian was delivered by more than sixty children, most of them boys, and periodically the paper sponsored an event for us at its office or at a local pizzeria.—
Peter Hessler,
New Yorker,
31 May 2026
-
Epstein visited Interlochen periodically, often with his confidante and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, and stayed in the lodge now marked for demolition.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
Details of the forum focused on the intermittent water supply affecting an overall population of nearly 10 million people were published Thursday by the official website Cubadebate.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 May 2026
-
Timing and exact coverage remain less certain this far out, but intermittent rounds of showers and storms look likely Saturday through Monday.—
Nelly Carreño,
CBS News,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“On and off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/on%20and%20off. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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