Synonyms for by fits and starts
- gradual
- at intervals
- by degrees
- fitfully
- fragmentary
- gradually
- intermittent
- intermittently
- interrupted
- little by little
- partial
- partially
- patchy
- spotty
- step by step
MOST RELEVANT
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the
Philip Lief Group.
WORD ORIGIN
"be suitable," probably from early 15c.; "to be the right shape," 1580s, from fit (adj.). Related: Fitted; fitting. Fitted sheets is attested from 1963.
MORE RELATED WORDS FOR BY FITS AND STARTS
irregularly
adverbintermittently- any which way
- anyhow
- at intervals
- by fits and starts
- by turns
- disconnectedly
- eccentrically
- erratically
- fitfully
- haphazardly
- helter-skelter
- in snatches
- infrequently
- jerkily
- now and again
- occasionally
- off and on
- out of sequence
- periodically
- slapdash
- spasmodically
- sporadically
- uncertainly
- uncommonly
- unevenly
- unmethodically
- unpunctually
- willy-nilly
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the
Philip Lief Group.