sporadically
Americanadverb
-
every now and then; at irregular intervals in time.
Ox-eye sunflowers bloom sporadically throughout the summer.
-
here and there; in scattered locations.
Little candles, placed sporadically among the chapel pews, lit up people’s faces.
Etymology
Origin of sporadically
First recorded in 1675–85; sporadic ( def. ) + -ally ( def. )
Explanation
Something that happens sporadically doesn't occur with regularity, but rather periodically or occasionally. You might meet sporadically with your cousins, usually on minor holidays like Memorial Day or Flag Day. Sporadically comes from the Greek word sporadikos, meaning scattered, with the root word spora, which means sowing. Imagine sowing seed by scattering it, and you'll get the hit-or-miss sense of sporadically. There is no pattern to the frequency of an event that occurs sporadically. Working sporadically is hard because you lack a steady income and never know when you'll be busy, but traveling sporadically can be fun.
Vocabulary lists containing sporadically
The Glass Castle
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Bridge to Terabithia
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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.
That means playing financial defense at home, tightening our belts and getting used to living standards that don’t rise, or rise and fall sporadically.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
After years of being in touch only sporadically, I reached out to hear if the Space X IPO had changed any of their life plans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
The volcano has been sporadically active since it emerged from the sea at the beginning of last century in the caldera that formed after the 1883 eruption of Mount Krakatoa.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
Gates opened for supporters at 11:00 local time - four hours before kick-off - with more gates being opened sporadically to ease congestion.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
They talked sporadically, mostly chatting awkwardly about their engineering classes.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
