ˈfitfəl adjective
Etymology: fit (II) + -ful
1. obsolete : characterized by fits or paroxysms
life's fitful fever — Shakespeare
2. : having a spasmodic, irregular, or intermittent character : changeable or uncertain in mood : occurring in fits or spurts : coming and going : variable , capricious , unstable , impulsive
his education must have been fitful , to say the most of it — Osbert Sitwell
there was a fitful cannonade far away in the southwest — H.G.Wells
one of the most constant complaints is of insomnia or … fitful sleep — H.G.Armstrong
hitherto I've been gloomy, moody, fitful — W.S.Gilbert
• fit·ful·ly -fəlē, -li adverb
• fit·ful·ness noun -es