frequently
Americanadverb
Synonym Usage
See often.
Etymology
Origin of frequently
Explanation
If you do something frequently, you do it repeatedly, again and again. If you frequently visit the cookie jar, you might gain some unwanted pounds. Doctors and nurses have to wash their hands frequently, many times each day, since they touch various patients and don't want to spread germs. When you're driving in rush hour traffic, you usually find yourself stopping frequently. Things that occur over and over, especially in a relatively short time frame, happen frequently. The adverb frequently comes from the adjective frequent, which originally meant "profuse or ample," from the Latin root frequentem, "crowded or repeated."
Vocabulary lists containing frequently
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"We have certainly seen bad actors use hacked accounts and stolen accounts in the past. Frequently, in fact. This seems more targeted," Clemson University's Darren Linvill told AFP.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
Frequently missed, though easily accessible from Porto’s center via an antique tram line, Foz do Douro could qualify as the north’s most delightful urban outcropping.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
He shares his upbeat philosophy on social media, and has published a book, Frequently Happy, encouraging people to look for uplifting moments in the everyday.
From BBC • Jan. 18, 2026
Frequently, she’s shown smoldering with fury or dark intent, gazing up from under her brows with a lowered chin, something Moss says she lifted from Stanley Kubrick’s films.
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2025
Frequently use self-assessment as a means to improve future performance and to increase their effectiveness with those around them.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
