Duncan is in his grave; After life's fitful fever he sleeps well; Treason has done his worst: nor steel, nor poison, Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing, Can touch him further.Fitful 是一个由熟词 fit （发作、昏厥、痉挛；突发）+ 形容词后缀 -ful （富有……的、充满……的、具有……性质的、易于……的、可……的）构成而来的单词，最早出现于莎士比亚于1606年创作的悲剧《麦克白》（Macbeth）中，用来表示疾病“阵发性的”：

邓肯现在睡在他的坟墓里；经过了一场人生的热病，他现在睡得好好的，叛逆已经对他施过最狠毒的伤害，再没有刀剑、毒药、内乱、外患，可以加害于他了。不过发展到现在， fitful 则主要用来泛指“断断续续的、一阵阵的、间歇的”或者“反复无常的、不规则的”，强调变化性和间歇性，常意味着一种以断断续续为特征的不规则连续性，

比如：

一阵阵的大风

a fitful gale

忽明忽灭的闪光

a fitful gleam

the fitful militant stance of that country那个国家反复无常的好战姿态

Fine friendship requires duration rather than fitful intensity.名人名言

intermittent: occurring at irregular intervals; not continuous or steady spasmodic: occurring or done in brief, irregular bursts sporadic: occurring at irregular intervals or only in a few places; scattered or isolated良好的友谊需要的是持久，而非时断时续的热度。出自古希腊哲学家亚里士多德（Aristotle）。同近义词