intermittence
Stopping and starting
Intermittence is the quality of stopping and starting at intervals rather than continuing steadily.
A condition marked by intermittence comes and goes: the intermittence of her symptoms made diagnosis difficult.
The word is less common than its adjective form intermittent, but serves when you need a noun for the pattern itself.
Occurring irregularly, infrequently
- erraticLacking regularity or consistency
- irregularDeviating from normal patterns
- unpredictableCannot be anticipated
- episodicOccurring in distinct segments
spasmodic · haphazard · discontinuous · fitful · uneven · patchy · scattered · random
Temporary cessation of activity
- breakInterrupt continuity
- gapUnfilled space between
- hiatusBreak in activity
- lullTemporary period of quiet
cessation · suspension · interlude · respite · stoppage · discontinuity · abeyance · lapse
Arterial blood throb
- oscillationRepeated back-and-forth movement
- syncopationStressed unexpected beats
- beatRhythmic pulse or strike
- cadenceRhythmic pulse or pattern
cycle · periodicity · alternation · fluctuation · undulation · pulsation
Rapidly pulsing light
- blinkingEyelid opening and closing
- flashingRepeated brief illumination
- pulsingBeating with rhythm
- flickeringShining unsteadily, intermittently
stuttering · sputtering · winking · fluctuating · wavering · guttering · glimmering · faltering
sporadic
Occurring irregularly, infrequently
- erraticLacking regularity or consistency
- irregularDeviating from normal patterns
- unpredictableCannot be anticipated
episodic · spasmodic · haphazard · discontinuous · fitful · uneven · patchy · scattered · random · desultory
pause
Temporary cessation of activity
lull · cessation · suspension · interlude · respite · stoppage · discontinuity · abeyance · lapse · dormancy
pulse
Arterial blood throb
- oscillationRepeated back-and-forth movement
- syncopationStressed unexpected beats
- beatRhythmic pulse or strike
cadence · cycle · periodicity · alternation · fluctuation · undulation · pulsation
strobe
Rapidly pulsing light
flickering · stuttering · sputtering · winking · fluctuating · wavering · guttering · glimmering · faltering · on-off
intermittencecontinuity
Uninterrupted progression or coherence
continuousness · constancy · permanence · uninterruptedness · perpetuity
intermittencesteadiness
State of being constant
regularity · consistency · uniformity · stability · evenness
- intermittent fastingScheduled cycles of eating and abstaining
- intermittent rainPrecipitation with pauses between
- intermittent fastCycled eating and abstinence