as in off and on
not constantly or steadily over a period of time
It's been raining on and off all afternoon.
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in recurrent
occurring or appearing at intervals
an on-and-off friendship over the years
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for on and off
Adverb
-
It was meant to be a two-week painting trip, but Hood stayed, off and on, for the next 20 years.—
Grace Edquist,
Vogue,
13 Feb. 2025 -
The hat worn by Margaret Hamilton’s Wicked Witch of the West will also be auctioned off and on display.—
Ashley J. DiMella Fox News,
Fox News,
21 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
Treatment for UTIs in older adults involves the same antibiotics used in younger adults, but adjustments may be made for people with recurrent UTIs or who regularly use catheters.—
Matthew Wosnitzer,
Verywell Health,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Unsurprisingly, the treatment for recurrent BV or recurrent yeast tends to involve extending the usual care—that is, doing a lengthier course of antibiotics for BV or antifungals for yeast as determined by your doctor, for up to six months.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
27 Feb. 2025
Adverb
-
This estate recovery technically is required today but many states enforce the rule only sporadically.—
Howard Gleckman,
Forbes,
21 Feb. 2025
-
The Charlotte Observer has tried to answer them, too. Clues about what happened to the Fallston Elementary fourth grader sporadically popped up in the last two decades.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
12 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Anxiety about pocketbook issues, however, formed a recurring and persistent theme.—
David Lauter,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Sep. 2024
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The company has bolstered its software and securities business to diversify and bring in more recurring subscription revenue.—
Ari Levy,
CNBC,
14 Aug. 2024
Adjective
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Whenever Iran suffers one of its periodic spasms of unrest, as happened at the end of 2022 following the death of a young Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody, protesters criticize Iran’s overseas entanglements.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
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While these are part of a periodic programme of reviews — Newcastle tend to have departmental evaluations after most transfer windows — there is greater importance attached to this round given the key infrastructure questions.—
Chris Waugh,
The Athletic,
24 Feb. 2025
Adverb
-
Replace default PINs on devices with unique ones and update them periodically.—
Alex Vakulov,
Forbes,
20 Feb. 2025
-
The proceedings, which wrapped up in December, periodically grew contentious, with lawyers lobbing insults at each other.—
Christy Gutowski,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Of course, Diana herself was an enthusiastic if intermittent London Fashion Week attendee from the mid-’80s onwards, using the flashbulb frenzy that followed her from Coleherne Court to Kensington Palace to illuminate the brilliance of the likes of Joe Casely-Hayford.—
Alice Newbold,
Vogue,
22 Feb. 2025
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Not much can be made of the expressions on their faces, but the contorted bodies are sketched to reveal a sense—even evoke a sound—of intermittent agony.—
Emmanuel Iduma,
ARTnews.com,
21 Feb. 2025
Adverb
-
His ringmaster’s charisma, chameleonic voices, and occasionally viral socio-anarchist zingers work in concert with his encyclopedic knowledge of Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition to qualify him as arguably the greatest Dungeon Master alive.—
Eric Francisco,
Rolling Stone,
1 Mar. 2025
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Rambin ended up compiling 161 episodes as Lily Montgomery (and occasionally as her own older half-sister, Ava Benton), and accepted roles on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Grey's Anatomy while still appearing on the soap.—
EW Staff Published,
EW.com,
1 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“On and off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/on%20and%20off. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
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