sporadically
Americanadverb
-
every now and then; at irregular intervals in time.
Ox-eye sunflowers bloom sporadically throughout the summer.
-
here and there; in scattered locations.
Little candles, placed sporadically among the chapel pews, lit up people’s faces.
Etymology
Origin of sporadically
First recorded in 1675–85; sporadic ( def. ) + -ally ( def. )
Explanation
Something that happens sporadically doesn't occur with regularity, but rather periodically or occasionally. You might meet sporadically with your cousins, usually on minor holidays like Memorial Day or Flag Day. Sporadically comes from the Greek word sporadikos, meaning scattered, with the root word spora, which means sowing. Imagine sowing seed by scattering it, and you'll get the hit-or-miss sense of sporadically. There is no pattern to the frequency of an event that occurs sporadically. Working sporadically is hard because you lack a steady income and never know when you'll be busy, but traveling sporadically can be fun.
Vocabulary lists containing sporadically
The Glass Castle
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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.
Plague is found in all continents except Oceania, and cases have been sporadically reported worldwide.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
That means playing financial defense at home, tightening our belts and getting used to living standards that don’t rise, or rise and fall sporadically.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Amid the heat wave, thousands of Southland residents were sporadically without power as outages popped up in different communities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
A postpandemic semiconductor shortage cost GM billions as the automaker was forced to sporadically idle assembly plants across North America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Once the Advance had sailed far enough north, letters could only be sent or received sporadically, when passed from ship to ship.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
