Meaning

(obsolete) Characterized by fits (convulsions or seizures)..

Definitions by Sense

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.

Example Sentences

Duncane is in his Graue: After Lifes fitfull Feuer, he ſleepes well, Treaſon ha's done his worſt: not Steele, not Poyſon, Mallice domeſtique, forraine Leuie, nothing, Can touch him further.

His breathing was fitful.

Troubled by her unfinished work, she fell into a fitful sleep.

Harp of the North! that mouldering long hast hung On the witch-elm that shades Saint Fillan's spring, And down the fitful breeze thy numbers flung, Till envious ivy did around thee cling, Muffling with verdant ringlet every string,— […]

Like the figures on arras, that gloomily glare Stirred by the breath of the wintry air, So seen by the dying lamp's fitful light, Lifeless, but life-like, and awful to sight; […]

The cabin lamp—taking long swings this way and that— was burning fitfully, and casting fitful shadows upon the old man’s bolted door,—a thin one, with fixed blinds inserted, in place of upper panels.

So fitful has Britain’s economy been that any good news is understandably snatched at.

Word Forms

• more fitful
• most fitful

Synonyms for fitful

Antonyms for fitful

Related Words

When Should You Use Fitful?

Use fitful when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Practice This Word

Frequently Asked Questions