Word · Frequency #22165
Fully loadedfitful
断断续续的；一阵阵的；间歇的
occurring in spells; intermittently stopping and starting
- 1.
Characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between; intermittent, irregular, unsteady.
间歇的；不规则的；不稳定的,一阵一阵的。
间歇的；不规则的；不稳定的,一阵一阵的。；断断续续的；一阵阵的；间歇的
In use
The baby's fitful sleep left the parents exhausted all night.
After a fitful start, the meeting finally became productive.
She made fitful attempts to study, checking her phone every few minutes.
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。
be + fitful
Internet access in the area is fitful.
这个区域的互联网连接是断断续续的。
Common mistakes
He slept fitful.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。
Connections
Collocations
- fitful sleep
- 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。
- fitful night
- 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。
- fitful progress
- 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。
- fitful attempts
- 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。
- fitful gusts
- 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。
Idioms & figurative uses
Learner notes
Memory Tip
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。
Context & Register
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。
Pronunciation & Spelling
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.