What does intermittency mean?
Intermittency is the noun for the condition of something happening at intervals rather than continuously. A signal, power supply, service, illness, or pattern of employment may display intermittency when it repeatedly stops or weakens and then returns. The word is especially common in technical and formal contexts, including medicine, engineering, telecommunications, and economics. It is more precise than a general reference to change or irregularity because it highlights a recurring stop-and-start pattern. Intermittency can also describe a quality rather than a specific event: a business may suffer from the intermittency of demand, or a performer may be known for the intermittency of her creative output. The related adjective intermittent describes the thing that occurs in this fashion, while intermittency names the condition itself. Because the term can imply instability or unreliability, it is especially useful when discussing systems or conditions in which continued access, performance, or recurrence matters.
nounThe state or quality of occurring at intervals rather than continuously, especially with regular periods of interruption. It refers to a pattern in which something appears, disappears, and then returns.
- The state or quality of recurring at intervals rather than occurring continuously.
"The intermittency of the power supply made it difficult to complete the online test."
"The intermittency of the signal caused several abrupt interruptions during the broadcast."
"Her improvement was marked by the intermittency of her symptoms, which sometimes faded for days before returning."
The plural is rare; intermittency is normally used as an uncountable noun.
"The report documented the intermittencies that affected the service."
The Latin roots inter- (“between”) and mittere (“send”) give intermittency a fittingly stop-and-start ancestry.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does intermittency come from?
Intermittency was formed in English from the earlier word intermittent, which comes from Latin intermittere, meaning to interrupt or cause to stop from time to time. The Latin elements inter-, meaning “between,” and mittere, meaning “send,” supply the idea of something occurring in gaps. Related English words include intermittent, intermit, and intermission, all belonging to the same Latin-derived vocabulary.
How intermittency is actually used
Intermittency is a formal or technical noun used especially in discussions of power, communications, employment, performance, and medicine. It emphasizes recurring alternation between activity and interruption rather than simply describing one isolated break.
Easily confused with intermittency
Intermittency is the noun naming the condition or pattern, while intermittent is the adjective describing something that happens at intervals.