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.
Panish and Grossman frequently clashed during the doctor’s testimony, and the judge repeatedly reminded him to answer only what he knew, not what he believed.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
Big tech companies frequently use H-1B visas to hire in-demand skilled workers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
Space-time is frequently described as the “fabric of reality.”
From Science Daily • Jun. 8, 2026
Haaland has discussed his desire to run a farm in his home country when he retires and he can frequently be spotted strolling around Oslo, where he owns an apartment.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
I felt it was what was to be expected, and what could not be helped: an ordinary beggar is frequently an object of suspicion; a well-dressed beggar inevitably so.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
