Fitful \Fit"ful\, a. [From 7th {Fit}.] Full of fits; irregularly variable; impulsive and unstable. After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well. --Shak. -- {Fit"ful*ly}, adv. -- {Fit"ful*ness}, n. The victorious trumpet peal Dies fitfully away. --Macaulay.
fitfulness n : the quality of being spasmodic and irregular [syn: {jerkiness}]