Adjective

(en adjective)

Irregular; unsteady; characterized by fits.

His breathing was fitful .

*1605 , Shakespeare, Macbeth ,

[...] Duncan is in his grave;

After life's fitful fever he sleeps well;

*1851 ,

*:The cabin lamp—taking long swings this way and that— was burning fitfully, and casting fitful shadows upon the old man’s bolted door [...]

*2012 , The Economist, The economy: Don’t say “green shoots”

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

Adjective

(en adjective)

Producing a profit.

* (Aeschylus)

It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author=(Oliver Burkeman)

, volume=189, issue=2, page=27, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= The tao of tech , passage=The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable . Web companies like to boast about "creating compelling content", or offering services that let you "stay up to date with what your friends are doing"