sporadic

American  

[spuh-rad-ik] / spəˈræd ɪk /

Sometimes sporadical

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.

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sporadic British  

/ spəˈrædɪk /

adjective

1. occurring at irregular points in time; intermittent

   sporadic firing

2. scattered; isolated

   a sporadic disease

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Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of sporadic

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; see spore, -ic

Explanation

Sporadic is an adjective that you can use to refer to something that happens or appears often, but not constantly or regularly. The mail carrier comes every day but the plumber's visits are sporadic — he comes as needed. A specialized use of sporadic is to describe a disease that appears only occasionally in random cases, and is therefore not an epidemic. Mostly, though, you'll hear this word used to describe anything that happens occasionally, like your family's sporadic trips to visit your distant cousins in Ohio or the sporadic bake sales your science club sponsors when it's low on funds. English borrowed the word sporadic from Greek sporadikós, "scattered."

Example Sentences

People fed up with rolling blackouts have staged sporadic protests in recent days, banging pots and shouting slogans against the government, rare demonstrations in a country known for repressing dissent.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2026

Chief engagement and policy officer Alison Tooze says habits are now far more sporadic and more people are trying to avoid paying for tickets.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

If her updates became sporadic, followers would send her messages asking when the next post was coming.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026

And then, to the sound of sporadic laughter, the amplified voice sings a slightly altered version:

From Slate • Feb. 11, 2026

"Traveling sporadic myositis," he pronounced quickly and glanced at Angela.

From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin

Related Words

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