recurrent
Americanadjective
-
that recurs; occurring or appearing again, especially repeatedly or periodically.
- Synonyms:
- intermittent, persistent, repeated
-
Anatomy. turned back so as to run in a reverse direction, as a nerve, artery, branch, etc.
adjective
-
happening or tending to happen again or repeatedly
-
anatomy (of certain nerves, branches of vessels, etc) turning back, so as to run in the opposite direction
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of recurrent
1590–1600; < Latin recurrent- (stem of recurrēns ), present participle of recurrere to run back, equivalent to recurr ( ere ) ( see recur) + -ent- -ent
Explanation
Do you dream again and again that you are flying? If so, you could say that you have a recurrent dream of flight. Recurrent means something that happens repeatedly. The word recurrent comes from a Latin word meaning "to return or come back." A recurrent dream, good or bad, keeps coming back. You'll hear this word used often about abstract things like dreams, thoughts, and in literature, themes. For instance, the theme of a motherless child finding its way in the world is recurrent in pop culture and literature.
Vocabulary lists containing recurrent
Make a Run for It: Cur, Curs
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"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
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List 3
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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.
In the longer term, rising defense spending, the demands of aging populations and recurrent economic shocks will further affect national budgets.
From MarketWatch • May 20, 2026
In addition to fusion, it has other business lines: a power-management division and a medical unit working on particle-beam technology for targeted therapy for recurrent cancers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026
The paper 'Experimental glycopeptide antibiotic EVG7 prevents recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection by sparing members of the Lachnospiraceae family' was published in Nature Communications.
From Science Daily • Mar. 11, 2026
Following the successful surgery, his medical team deemed it necessary to treat his recurrent hiccups, which he had been suffering from for months.
From BBC • Dec. 28, 2025
The Griffon, Phoenix, Centaur, Sphinx, Manticore, Ganesha, Ch’i-lin, and all the rest are like recurrent bad dreams, and we are well rid of them.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.
