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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List 1
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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.
The researchers found that participants who exercised more frequently tended to experience more restorative sleep.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
Paxton has traveled frequently out of state while listing little on his official calendar, The Associated Press reported last week.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
Instead, the programs frequently alert companies before inspectors show up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Mr. Gibney provides a useful overview of an eventful life but frequently veers off-track into bristling hyperbole.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Betsie had never been able to lift much; today her shovelfuls were microscopic and she stumbled frequently as she walked to the low ground where we dumped the loads.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
