fitful

Etymology

From fit (“convulsion, seizure; sudden burst of activity”) + -ful (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, with the sense of being full of, tending to, or thoroughly possessing the quality expressed by the noun).

adj

1. (obsolete) Characterized by fits (convulsions or seizures).
2. (by extension) Characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between; intermittent, irregular, unsteady.
   His breathing was fitful.
   Troubled by her unfinished work, she fell into a fitful sleep.
   So fitful has Britain’s economy been that any good news is understandably snatched at. 27 October 2012, “The economy: Don’t say ‘green shoots’: Britain emerges from its second recession in four years”, in The Economist, London: Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2012-10-29