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.
Across the channel from Tudor England, France was convulsed by recurrent violence between Catholics and Huguenots, a minority community of Calvinist Protestants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
"By identifying the immune cells that drive recurrent arthritis, we can inform treatment strategies that reduce the risk of future flares while preserving the therapy's effectiveness against cancer."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026
In the book, Kusama explained her concept of "self-obliteration" -- a recurrent theme throughout her career.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
For example, the importance of energy transition has increased since the start of the Ukraine war, while recurrent European droughts are driving companies to “invest very heavily” in water resources and desalination plants.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
I couldn't decide if it were from watching some similar scene in the movies, from books I'd read, or from some recurrent but deeply buried dream.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
