as in off and on
not constantly or steadily over a period of time
It's been raining on and off all afternoon.
Related Words
Relevance
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for on and off
Adverb
-
Strawberry doughnuts are available off and on throughout the year, and the shops also sell peach doughnuts when the stone fruit is in season.—
Fielding Buck,
Oc Register,
16 June 2025 -
This continued off and on until 2019, and then meetings with him became more frequent, the woman told authorities.—
Alex Brizee,
Idaho Statesman,
21 May 2025
Adjective
-
To prevent recurrent issues, owners should identify the source of the cat's arousal and avoid as best as possible.—
Maria Morava,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 June 2025
-
For example, our findings provide a key reason why patients with a chronic autoimmune disease called systemic lupus erythematosus often suffer from recurrent infections.—
Andrew Monteith,
The Conversation,
25 June 2025
Adverb
-
While the mustachioed plumber and his brother became the face of the brand, Donkey Kong appears more sporadically — wavering occasionally between a hero and villain — and doesn’t even have a consistent lore.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
1 July 2025
-
The sporadically game, often reluctant fourth-wheel participant in all of this was Jenny, my billing specialist.—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
16 June 2025
Adjective
-
Does this bring him into a more recurring, regular role?—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
9 May 2025
-
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
-
Traditional extract, transform and load (ETL) systems—built for periodic batch jobs—fall short in these contexts.—
Shinoy Vengaramkode Bhaskaran,
Forbes.com,
7 July 2025
-
Beyond that, periodic chances of showers and storms will continue throughout the rest of the week.—
Haadiza Ogwude,
The Enquirer,
7 July 2025
Adverb
-
Last year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers placed about 140,000 cubic yards of sand on the beach near the San Clemente Pier in the first phase of a federal project expected to continue periodically for 50 years.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 June 2025
-
The Met periodically hosts visitors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
Adjective
-
However, the available data indicates that for the past several months there has been a persistent presence of hydrogen sulfide, causing intermittent exposure to levels that some studies and environmental health experts suggest can cause respiratory complications.—
Tammy Murga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 July 2025
-
Itasca received intermittent voice messages from Earhart as her signal increased.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
4 July 2025
Adverb
-
Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine have occasionally spilled over into NATO nations like Poland and Romania, which border Ukraine.—
Ellie Cook,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 June 2025
-
Many expressions also exhibit delicate floral notes, reminiscent of white blossoms, and occasionally a faint almond or herbal edge.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
28 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 10 Jul. 2025.
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