as in off and on
not constantly or steadily over a period of time
It's been raining on and off all afternoon.
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in recurrent
occurring or appearing at intervals
an on-and-off friendship over the years
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for on and off
Adverb
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There were also tributes from founding Beach Boy Al Jardine, and actor John Stamos, who gigged with the group, off and on, for the past four decades.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
12 June 2025 -
Flores yelled off and on for about 20 seconds before making his way slowly to first base, accompanied by Padres catcher Elias Díaz and umpire Ryan Wills.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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The symptoms have become so recurrent that the girl’s parents spend sleepless nights taking turns monitoring and caring for her.—
Nicole Acevedo,
NBC news,
12 June 2025
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In some cases, however, pellagra proved to be a recurrent disease, flaring up again once patients returned home and resumed their polenta-heavy diet.—
Asia London Palomba,
Smithsonian Magazine,
6 June 2025
Adverb
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Bass enacted the curfew last week after five days of chaotic and sporadically violent protests that came in response to President Trump’s immigration crackdown in Southern California.—
Noah Goldberg,
Los Angeles Times,
16 June 2025
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Thereafter more prominent on the police blotter and the court docket than the record charts, Stone sporadically re-emerged after the turn of the millennium for a bizarre public appearance or chaotic concert date.—
Chris Morris,
Variety,
9 June 2025
Adjective
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Does this bring him into a more recurring, regular role?—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
9 May 2025
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Dobson says the research is coming now that the power engineering community increasingly recognizes cascading failures as a distinct and recurring problem—a concept that still elicited protests from power engineers in the aftermath of the 2003 blackout.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
14 Aug. 2013
Adjective
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High-criticality or hard-to-access assets often justify remote, real-time solutions (e.g., IoT sensors), while less-critical assets might only need handheld tools or periodic checks.—
Ed Garibian,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
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The footage captured by the drones will be also subject to periodic audits.—
Libor Jany,
Los Angeles Times,
24 June 2025
Adverb
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Since his return to Cuba, González’s life has been periodically covered by the state-run media, often to highlight Fidel Castro’s legacy.—
Maykel Gonzalez,
Miami Herald,
20 June 2025
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Well, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been periodically warning for more than a decade that Iran was just weeks away from creating a nuclear weapon, is beating that war drum once again.—
Chris Brennan,
USA Today,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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That amounts to success through delay—a repeatable outcome, sustained through intermittent precision attacks.—
David A. Deptula,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
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Despite the relentless pre-match hype montages, intermittent deluges of FIFA self-congratulation and the blasting of Robbie Williams’ hilariously self-parodic tournament theme song at half-time.—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
17 June 2025
Adverb
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And occasionally, the judiciary and other adjudicating bodies still push back on the executive’s overreach.—
ASHLEY J. TELLIS,
Foreign Affairs,
17 June 2025
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But there were quieter, more beautiful paintings, too—filled with Orlik’s odd, occasionally prophetic imagination.—
Sam Knight,
New Yorker,
17 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“On and off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/on%20and%20off. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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