fitful

/ˈfɪtfəl/

An adjective that sounds a little like what it means, fitful means stopping and starting, on-again off-again, switching suddenly. I had a fitful night's sleep: I woke up several times throughout the night.

A fit is a disturbance that happens without warning, like a tantrum, tremor, or spasm. If something is fitful, it's "full of fits." A night at the opera is a night of fitful pleasures: the arias are cool, but the rest of the show is boring. I've made only fitful progress trying to lose weight, because I lose only a few pounds at a time, and they almost always come right back: my progress is fitful because it comes in "fits and starts."

Definitions of fitful

1. adjective

   occurring in spells and often abruptly
   “fitful bursts of energy”

   synonyms: spasmodic

   sporadic

   recurring in scattered and irregular or unpredictable instances
2. adjective

   intermittently stopping and starting
   “fitful (or interrupted) sleep”

   synonyms: interrupted, off-and-on

   broken

   not continuous in space, time, or sequence or varying abruptly