1
fitful + noun
该词常修饰表示睡眠、进展、声音等名词，强调“间歇的、不稳定的”。
She managed only a few fitful hours of sleep.
她只睡了断断续续的几个小时。
断断续续的；一阵阵的；间歇的
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
断断续续的；一阵阵的；间歇的
occurring in spells; intermittently stopping and starting
She managed only a few fitful hours of sleep.
她只睡了断断续续的几个小时。
间歇的；不规则的；不稳定的,一阵一阵的。
Characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between; intermittent, irregular, unsteady.
The baby's fitful sleep left the parents exhausted all night.
宝宝断断续续的睡眠让父母整夜疲惫不堪。
After a fitful start, the meeting finally became productive.
在断断续续的开头之后，会议终于变得有成效。
She made fitful attempts to study, checking her phone every few minutes.
她断断续续地尝试学习，每隔几分钟就看一次手机。
该词常修饰表示睡眠、进展、声音等名词，强调“间歇的、不稳定的”。
She managed only a few fitful hours of sleep.
她只睡了断断续续的几个小时。
Internet access in the area is fitful.
这个区域的互联网连接是断断续续的。
Not this
He slept fitful.
Use this
He slept fitfully.
fitful 是形容词，不能修饰动词 slept；修饰动词要用副词形式 fitfully，表示断断续续地。
Not this
The old man is very fitful and can run fast.
Use this
The old man is very fit and can run fast.
fitful 意为“间歇的、一阵阵的”，不是 fit（健壮的、适合的）的变体；表示身体健壮要用 fit。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
断断续续的睡眠
After the bad news, she had a fitful sleep and woke up several times.
得知坏消息后，她睡得断断续续，醒了好几次。
难以安睡的夜晚
He spent a fitful night before the exam.
考试前他度过了一个难以安睡的夜晚。
断断续续的进展
The negotiations made fitful progress over the months.
这些谈判几个月来取得了断断续续的进展。
时断时续的尝试
His fitful attempts to quit smoking finally succeeded.
他时断时续的戒烟尝试最终成功了。
一阵阵的狂风
Fitful gusts rattled the windows all night.
一阵阵的狂风整夜吹得窗户嘎嘎作响。
断断续续的睡眠
He fell into a fitful sleep, waking at every sound.
他陷入了断断续续的睡眠，一有声响就醒来。
断断续续的进展
The peace talks made fitful progress over several months.
和平谈判在几个月里取得了断断续续的进展。
人生的断续纷扰
After life's fitful fever, he finally found rest.
经历了人生的断续纷扰后，他终于得到了安息。
在人生断断续续的狂热过后，他安眠了。
This line from Macbeth uses 'fitful' to describe life's restless fever, which has finally stopped for the murdered king.
这句出自《麦克白》的台词用 fitful 来形容人生不安的狂热，而这狂热对那位被谋杀国王来说终于停下了。
Use fitful naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
联想 fit（一阵突然发作），fitful 就是‘一阵阵的、断断续续的’，如阵雨时下时停。
语域：mixed 常见场景：written narrative、describing sleep、news reporting 该词多用于书面语和文学性描述，常搭配睡眠、进步等；在日常口语中描述睡眠时也比较常见，如 fitful sleep。
All listed words share the final unstressed suffix /fəl/, so they end with the same sound as fitful, but none rhymes with it exactly because the stressed vowels differ. Spelling lookalikes like spiteful (/ˈspaɪtfəl/) and wistful (/ˈwɪstfəl/) look similar to fitful but sound different: spiteful has /aɪ/ instead of /ɪ/, and wistful has an extra /st/ before the suffix.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.