off-and-on

Examples

• All

• Off and on all day, I'd worried over it like a sore tooth, but couldn't put it to rest.

  Fiction book (1990)

• From all their subsequent interactions, it does seem Joan and Roger had been off-and-on for most of her time at SC.

  Blog text (25)

• I worked for Rosie... off and on about a year.

  Bite the Bullet (1975)

• I have been having off-and-on bleeding for about a year and a half.

  Blog text (1)

• After seven years of off-and-on negotiations, the two sides reached an agreement on 30 June 1994.

  Academic text (1996)

• I went through four years of off-and-on academics and this trade, eventually deciding to go to college.

  Blog text (7)

• Those off-and-on studies had brought her within a year of a bachelor's degree.

  Academic text (1995)

• He said Leo had been around for years, and they had an off-and-on relationship that resurrected itself whenever they were both at a loose end.

  Fiction book (1996)

• I go jogging off and on; sometimes I run every day, and other times I take weeks off.

• The project has seen off-and-on progress due to various delays and interruptions.

Synonyms

O

on and off

vsoff-and-on

73 2.0

Happens sometimes but not regularly

describes alternating active and inactive periods rather than simple occasional events

S

sporadic

vsoff-and-on

35 7.0

Happening sometimes and in different places

refers specifically to intermittent timing rather than scattered locations or places

I

intermittent

vsoff-and-on

35 6.5

Happening sometimes but not all the time

is a hyphenated phrase meaning stopping and starting at irregular times

O

off and on

vsoff-and-on

30 2.5

Happens sometimes but not regularly

focuses on repeated stopping and starting over time rather than mere occasionality

I

intermittently

vsoff-and-on

15 6.0

In a way that stops and starts at irregular times

is a hyphenated phrase describing that same intermittent stopping and starting

S

sporadically

vsoff-and-on

13 6.5

Happening only sometimes and not regularly

focuses on alternating activity and inactivity rather than occasional occurrence alone

F

fitful

vsoff-and-on

7 5.8

Happening in short, irregular bursts that start and stop

describes intermittent stopping and starting more generally, not focused on bursts

E

episodic

vsoff-and-on

3 7.1

Happening only sometimes and not regularly

describes repeated stopping and starting over time rather than isolated rare events

S

spasmodically

vsoff-and-on

1 8.6

Happens at irregular times in short, sudden bursts

expresses intermittent stopping and starting but not necessarily sudden, sharp bursts

B

by fits and starts

vsoff-and-on

• Informal

1 7.4

Happens at irregular times, starting and stopping

means the same intermittent pattern but without stressing short uneven bursts

I

interrupted

vsoff-and-on

3.4

Happening with short pauses that stop and start again

refers to repeated intermittent stopping and starting rather than a single temporary stop

N

nonperiodic

vsoff-and-on

7.6

Happening at irregular times

describes actual stopping and starting events rather than only absence of a schedule

Antonyms

C

constant

360 2.7

Stays the same over time

C

continuous

141 3.7

Without a break or gap, for example in a curve

How Continuous

continuous

141 3.7

regular

870 1.0

off-and-on

3 3.8

sporadic

35 7.0

rare

582 4.1

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology