spasmodic

• When the trocar is withdrawn the fluid may be allowed to flow so long as it keeps in a full equable stream; whenever it becomes jerky and spasmodic, the canula should be removed before the sucking noise of air entering the chest is heard In more chronic cases, where the quantity of fluid is large, and especially if it is thick and curdy, the exhausting syringe of Mr. Bowditch is an improvement on the simple trocar and canula It consists of a powerful syringe, which fits accurately to the trocar with which the puncture is made. —  A Manual of the Operations of Surgery For the Use of Senior Students, House Surgeons, and Junior Practitioners
• And so his efforts became more and more spasmodic, and he confined himself to trying to become the head of a clique. —  Dr. Jolliffe's Boys
• The action of Alabama, he said, was not from "sudden, spasmodic, and violent passion." —  Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. 1 (of 2) From Lincoln to Garfield, with a Review of the Events Which Led to the Political Revolution of 1860
• His breathing was spasmodic, he reeled, pulled himself together by sheer will, and stumbled on. —  Tom Slade's Double Dare
• You With a kind of spasmodic effort Hervey raised his head and, with a pride there was no mistaking, looked his scoutmaster straight in the face. —  Tom Slade's Double Dare

Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the Same Context