sporadic
[spuh-rad-ik]
- (of similar things or occurrences) appearing or happening at irregular intervals in time; occasional: sporadic renewals of enthusiasm.
- appearing in scattered or isolated instances, as a disease.
- isolated, as a single instance of something; being or occurring apart from others.
- occurring singly or widely apart in locality: the sporadic growth of plants.
Sometimes spo·rad·i·cal.
Origin of sporadic
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com3. separate, unconnected.
Antonyms
1. continuous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sporadic
Contemporary Examples
This is where the sporadic and hectic handling of the romance in the movies fails.
Team Peeta or Team Gale: Why the ‘Hunger Games’ Love Triangle Ruins ‘Mockingjay – Part 1’Kevin Fallon
November 28, 2014
The chanting—so much a part of protests here for the past 100-plus days—was sporadic through Monday night.
I left Lebanon in June 2012, but we kept in sporadic touch via Facebook.
Sporadic riots and fires did break out later during the festival.
Sporadic fighting also continued in eastern Ukrainian cities on Thursday.
Historical Examples
Under its sporadic breezes, as it turned, the ward was trying to sleep.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
Even in New England there was sporadic revolt from the beginning.
The American MindBliss Perry
To be sure, there are some sporadic efforts, mere reiterations.
And those other, sporadic members of our system, comets and meteors, what are they?
The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4)J. Arthur Thomson
At first resistance to Western encroachment was sporadic and unco-ordinated.
The New World of IslamLothrop Stoddard
sporadic
- occurring at irregular points in time; intermittentsporadic firing
- scattered; isolateda sporadic disease
Word Origin
C17: from Medieval Latin sporadicus, from Greek sporadikos, from sporas scattered; related to Greek speirein to sow; see spore
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for sporadic
adj.
1650s (implied in sporadical), from Medieval Latin sporadicus "scattered," from Greek sporadikos "scattered," from sporas (genitive sporados) "scattered," from spora "a sowing" (see spore). Originally a medical term, "occurring in scattered instances;" the meaning "happening at intervals" is first recorded 1847. Related: Sporadically.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
sporadic
(spə-răd′ĭk, spô-)
- Occurring at irregular intervals.
- Occurring singly; not grouped.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.