SYNONYMS | EXAMPLES | WORD ORIGIN adjective (of similar things or occurrences) appearing or happening at irregular intervals in time; occasional: sporadic renewals of enthusiasm.
appearing in scattered or isolated instances, as a disease.
isolated, as a single instance of something; being or occurring apart from others.
occurring singly or widely apart in locality: the sporadic growth of plants.
Sometimes spo·rad·i·cal .
Origin of sporadic 1680–90; <
Medieval Latin sporadicus <
Greek sporadikós, equivalent to
sporad- (stem of
sporás strewn, akin to
sporá spore ) +
-ikos -ic Related forms spo·rad·i·cal·ly , adverb spo·rad·i·cal·ness , noun spo·ra·dic·i·ty [spawr-uh -dis -i-tee, spohr-] /ˌspɔr əˈdɪs ɪ ti, ˌspoʊr-/ spo·ra·dism , noun Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for sporadic fitful ,
infrequent ,
rare ,
irregular ,
intermittent ,
random ,
scattered ,
isolated ,
occasional ,
desultory ,
spotty ,
few ,
hit-or-miss ,
scarce ,
seldom ,
spasmodic ,
uncommon Examples from the Web for sporadic Contemporary Examples of sporadic This is where the sporadic and hectic handling of the romance in the movies fails.
The chanting—so much a part of protests here for the past 100-plus days—was sporadic through Monday night.
I left Lebanon in June 2012, but we kept in sporadic touch via Facebook.
Sporadic riots and fires did break out later during the festival.
Sporadic fighting also continued in eastern Ukrainian cities on Thursday.
Historical Examples of sporadic Under its sporadic breezes, as it turned, the ward was trying to sleep.
Even in New England there was sporadic revolt from the beginning.
To be sure, there are some sporadic efforts, mere reiterations.
And those other, sporadic members of our system, comets and meteors, what are they?
At first resistance to Western encroachment was sporadic and unco-ordinated.
British Dictionary definitions for sporadic adjective occurring at irregular points in time; intermittent sporadic firing
scattered; isolated a sporadic disease
Show More
Derived Forms sporadically , adverb sporadicalness , noun Word Origin for sporadic C17: from Medieval Latin sporadicus, from Greek sporadikos, from sporas scattered; related to Greek speirein to sow; see spore
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for sporadic adj. 1650s (implied in sporadical ), from Medieval Latin sporadicus "scattered," from Greek sporadikos "scattered," from sporas (genitive sporados ) "scattered," from spora "a sowing" (see spore ). Originally a medical term, "occurring in scattered instances;" the meaning "happening at intervals" is first recorded 1847. Related: Sporadically .
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
sporadic [spə-răd′ ĭk, spô-]
adj. Occurring at irregular intervals.
Occurring singly; not grouped.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Team Peeta or Team Gale: Why the ‘Hunger Games’ Love Triangle Ruins ‘Mockingjay – Part 1’