sporadic

Sometimes spo·rad·i·cal

[spuh-rad-ik]

adjective

1. (of similar things or occurrences) appearing or happening at irregular intervals in time; occasional.

   sporadic renewals of enthusiasm.

   Antonyms: continuous

2. appearing in scattered or isolated instances, as a disease.

3. isolated, as a single instance of something; being or occurring apart from others.

   Synonyms: unconnected, separate

4. occurring singly or widely apart in locality.

   the sporadic growth of plants.

sporadic

/ spəˈrædɪk /

adjective

1. occurring at irregular points in time; intermittent

   sporadic firing

2. scattered; isolated

   a sporadic disease

Other Word Forms

• sporadically adverb
• sporadicalness noun
• sporadicity noun
• sporadism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sporadic¹

First recorded in 1680–90; from Medieval Latin sporadicus, from Greek sporadikós, equivalent to sporad- (stem of sporás “strewn,” akin to sporá “sowing, seed”) + -ikos adjective suffix; spore, -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of sporadic¹

C17: from Medieval Latin sporadicus, from Greek sporadikos, from sporas scattered; related to Greek speirein to sow; see _spore

Example Sentences

Four people, including one policeman, have died in sporadic unrest, while on Monday, an independent electoral commission building was torched.

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Executives monitored sporadic complaints online over menu changes and renovated locations with fewer wall-hanging tchotchkes.

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Save for sporadic announcements, there isn’t much material information for the stock to trade on.

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Greyson is minimally verbal, still wears diapers at night, and is prone to sporadic meltdowns.

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The unsigned order on Monday said that the sporadic violence at protests before an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland was sufficient to trigger the president’s power to federalize the Guard.

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Related Words

• desultory 
• fitful 
• infrequent 
• intermittent 
• irregular 
• isolated 
• occasional 
• random 
• rare 
• scattered 
• spotty