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
-
In fact, some version of it has worked here for about 126 years, off and on.—
Adriane Quinlan,
Curbed,
4 Apr. 2025 -
Canada was one of the last countries to pull out of the pandemic, and was on lockdown off and on for two years, much longer than the U.S. and other countries.—
David Moin,
WWD,
24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The findings of the survey come in contrast to a recent Pew Research Center poll, released in January, which found roughly equal shares of American men and women experience recurrent loneliness.—
Brendan Rascius,
Miami Herald,
21 May 2025
-
Symmetry through recurrent objects entered in the frame is common, with temporal match-cuts employed to take us from day to night, or even sunlight to surrounding snow.—
David Katz,
IndieWire,
18 May 2025
Adverb
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Over the decades, Manson and his followers appeared sporadically at parole hearings, where their bids for freedom were repeatedly rejected.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2025
-
The cemetery was only sporadically maintained by its caretaker, and raking the long grass gave me the eerie feeling of running my fingers through a child’s hair.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
2 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Does this bring him into a more recurring, regular role?—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
9 May 2025
-
Dobson says the research is coming now that the power engineering community increasingly recognizes cascading failures as a distinct and recurring problem—a concept that still elicited protests from power engineers in the aftermath of the 2003 blackout.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
14 Aug. 2013
Adjective
-
Modern belt drive systems, such as those from Gates, are made of a complex mixture of materials (above) that provide a service life far longer than a chain, operate in near silence, and require little to no maintenance, apart from periodic tension adjustments.—
William Roberson,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
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The suit claims the Trump administration’s decision to cut short the duration of immigration and work authorizations for Haitians was done in violation of immigration law and without the proper periodic review that the TPS statute requires.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
28 May 2025
Adverb
-
By periodically changing who has access to critical systems, especially for high-privilege roles, organizations can reduce the risk of any one person becoming a single point of failure.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
-
Gardeners periodically pull up the cages attached to their docks, and clean off any algae or debris, to ensure that the oysters get plenty of water flow.—
Christine Condon,
Baltimore Sun,
24 May 2025
Adjective
-
Residents lack running water, use 5-gallon buckets as toilets and must contend with intermittent electricity and deteriorating homes that expose them to the region’s fierce weather.—
Emily Schwing,
ProPublica,
29 May 2025
-
Holmgren had to take intermittent breaks from the sport because of growing pains.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
24 May 2025
Adverb
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In this episode, Mrs Flood is just sort of there, occasionally commenting on the action but mostly just standing around in the background.—
Ryan Woodrow,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 May 2025
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Essential character details emerge amidst the pace that drives their daily goals, and the fears bubbling underneath occasionally erupt, without anyone having to pay the price for this natural human upset.—
Sophie Monks Kaufman,
IndieWire,
23 May 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 4 Jun. 2025.
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