intermittent

intermittent — 形容詞

1. Something that is intermittent does not happen in a steady, unbroken way — it al

1.形容詞B2
釋義

間歇的

不規律地發生，時停時續

Something that is intermittent does not happen in a steady, unbroken way — it alternates between being active and being paused, with breaks that can be short or long.

例句

The café's intermittent Wi-Fi made it hard for Brandon to finish his work.

咖啡店的Wi-Fi斷斷續續的，Brandon很難完成工作。

attributive: intermittent + noun

Jisoo's migraines were intermittent — a month without one followed by two in a single week.

Jisoo的偏頭痛是間歇性的——一個月都沒發作，然後一週內就來了兩次。

predicative: be + intermittent

同義詞
  • sporadic

    Emphasises unpredictability; scattered occurrences with no clear pattern, while 'intermittent' emphasises an active cycle of stopping and starting.

  • occasional

    Softer in tone — means happening from time to time, but does not strongly suggest repeated cycles of stopping and starting.

  • fitful

    More literary; suggests restless or uneasy stopping and starting, especially of sleep, breathing, or effort.

反義詞
  • continuous

    Happening without any break or pause.

  • steady

    Happening in a regular, even, and predictable way.

  • constant

    Happening all the time without stopping.

文法句型

intermittent + noun

be + intermittent

用法筆記

Frequently used in medical contexts (intermittent pain, intermittent symptoms), weather reports (intermittent rain or showers), and technical contexts (intermittent signal or connection). Can be used both before a noun ('an intermittent noise') and after a linking verb ('the noise was intermittent').

常見錯誤

❌The bus comes at intermittent 10-minute intervals.
✅The bus comes at regular 10-minute intervals.
💡'intermittent' describes an unpredictable stop-start pattern, not something that happens at fixed times.
❌She felt continuous back pain that came and went.
✅She felt intermittent back pain that came and went.
💡'continuous' means without a break, but 'intermittent' means with breaks.