fitful
pronunciation
How to pronounce fitful in British English:
UK [ˈfɪtfl]
How to pronounce fitful in American English:
US [ˈfɪtfl]
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- Adjective:
- occurring in spells and often abruptly
- intermittently stopping and starting
Word Origin
- fitful (adj.)
- used once by Shakespeare ("Life's fitful fever," "Macbeth," 1605) in sense of "characterized by fits," from fit (n.2) + -ful. then Revived in Romantic poetry late 18c. with a sense of "shifting, changing." Related: Fitfully (1792); fitfulness.
Synonym
Example
- 1. A fitful dream , the morning will exhaust .
- 2. Punctuated by bouts of violence and fitful interludes of diplomacy , the deadly stalemate continues .
- 3. Fell into a fitful , uneasy sleep .
- 4. Europe 's fitful recovery is unfolding more than a year after the 16-nation currency bloc emerged from its worst recession in decades .
- 5. Progress is bound to be fitful .