Standard Lemma guide

fitful

adj · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈfɪtf(ʊ)l/
  • General-American: /ˈfɪtf(ə)l/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: F IH1 T F AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Characterized by fits (convulsions or seizures).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between; intermittent, irregular, unsteady.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly

Examples

  • His breathing was fitful.
  • Troubled by her unfinished work, she fell into a fitful sleep.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: capricious, changeable, changing, erratic, shifting, spasmodic, broken, fitful, ragged, catchy, discontinuous, intermissive, intermittent, patchy, stop-start

Antonyms: unfitful, amaranthine, solid, ceaseless, constant, continual, continuate, continuous, dreich, endless, eternal, everlasting, extended, incessant, incessive, infinite, never-ending, nonstop, ongoing, perpetual, persistent, relentless, steady, still, termless, unbroken, unceasing, unending, unintermitted, uninterrupted, unremitting, lasting, permanent, successive, uniform

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

intermittently stopping and starting

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • fitful (or interrupted) sleep
  • off-and-on static

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: interrupted, off-and-on(a)

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

occurring in spells and often abruptly

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • fitful bursts of energy
  • spasmodic rifle fire

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: spasmodic

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From fit (“convulsion, seizure; sudden burst of activity”) + -ful (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, with the sense of being full of, tending to, or thoroughly possessing the quality expressed by the noun).

Across languages

Translations

22 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: на пресекулки (na presekulki) — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Bulgarian: прекъснат (prekǎsnat) — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Dutch: grillig — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Dutch: onregelmatig — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • French: irrégulier — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • French: sporadique — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Georgian: იმპულსური (imṗulsuri) — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • German: unregelmäßig — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Hindi: अशांत (aśānt) — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Italian: a singhiozzo — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Italian: irregolare — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Italian: rapsodico — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Italian: sporadico — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Māori: pūrekereke — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Polish: niespokojny — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Russian: перемежающийся (peremežajuščijsja) — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Russian: порывистый (poryvistyj) — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Russian: прерывистый (preryvistyj) — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Russian: судорожный (sudorožnyj) — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Spanish: inestable — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Spanish: irregular — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular
  • Vietnamese: đứt quãng — characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between — see also intermittent, irregular