as in intermittently
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Recent Examples of fitfully
The filmmaker shows a strong handle over the film’s fanciful tone and fitfully filthy sense of humor, and he’s credited with composing the film’s score full of squawking brass instruments and skittish strings in addition to writing, directing and editing.
—
Stephen Saito, Variety, 16 Mar. 2026
Bella Ramsey takes a break from killing zombies and avenging father figures, their usual pastimes in series The Last of Us, to fool around and fall in love in Sunny Dancer, a decidedly uneven but fitfully charming, YA-skewed British comedy-drama.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026
While many talk shows began as fitfully amusing discussions around relevant issues, some soon devolved into sordid and exploitative freak shows that encouraged verbal and physical altercations.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
The city has been fitfully pursuing plans to renovate the stadium, widely regarded as an architectural and engineering marvel, since the administration of Mayor Tomás Regalado, who left office in 2017.
—Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
Now that the bill of losing with no end in sight has come due, the club’s latest rebuilding era has arrived fitfully and — despite Rutherford’s suggestion on Wednesday that the club has been preparing for this moment for two or three years — it’s arrived largely unplanned for.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
The orchestra seemed only fitfully engaged with Dudamel’s direction—a warning sign amid hoopla.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
Shamet was fitfully productive when played in meaningful spot minutes during the postseason for New York last year.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
This book is a stylish pastiche, as an unnamed woman fitfully reconstructs herself under the thumb of a strange man.
—Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Stephen Saito, Variety, 16 Mar. 2026
Bella Ramsey takes a break from killing zombies and avenging father figures, their usual pastimes in series The Last of Us, to fool around and fall in love in Sunny Dancer, a decidedly uneven but fitfully charming, YA-skewed British comedy-drama.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026
While many talk shows began as fitfully amusing discussions around relevant issues, some soon devolved into sordid and exploitative freak shows that encouraged verbal and physical altercations.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
The city has been fitfully pursuing plans to renovate the stadium, widely regarded as an architectural and engineering marvel, since the administration of Mayor Tomás Regalado, who left office in 2017.
—Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
Now that the bill of losing with no end in sight has come due, the club’s latest rebuilding era has arrived fitfully and — despite Rutherford’s suggestion on Wednesday that the club has been preparing for this moment for two or three years — it’s arrived largely unplanned for.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
The orchestra seemed only fitfully engaged with Dudamel’s direction—a warning sign amid hoopla.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
Shamet was fitfully productive when played in meaningful spot minutes during the postseason for New York last year.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
This book is a stylish pastiche, as an unnamed woman fitfully reconstructs herself under the thumb of a strange man.
—Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fitfully
Adverb
-
While seated in the back of the cruiser, Woods is seen hiccupping and intermittently closing his eyes, at one point leaning back and keeping them shut for several seconds before facing forward again.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2026
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The Houthis effectively closed off container shipping in the Suez Canal for nearly two years by intermittently attacking ships in the Red Sea and its chokepoint, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, with missiles and drones.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
31 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Because this form of cancer can metastasize so quickly and unpredictably, the only surefire method of prevention is a complete removal of the stomach, or total gastrectomy.—
Sarah Zhang,
The Atlantic,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Wet, frozen branches can snap unpredictably when under pressure and jagged edges cut through lightweight work gloves.—
Timothy Dale,
The Spruce,
15 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
The game ran poorly, crashed regularly, looked unremarkable, and drove disjointedly.—
Adam Ismail,
The Drive,
25 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
In presenting the Best Actor winners, Adrien Brody perfectly, if perhaps unconsciously, echoed Johnson’s remarks from more than 50 years earlier.—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
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Screen or email apnea happens when someone unconsciously holds their breath or breathes more shallowly while looking at their screen to answer emails or texts, explained Dora Kamau, lead mindfulness and meditation teacher at Headspace.—
Helen Carefoot,
Flow Space,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fitfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fitfully. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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