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; spore, -ic

Example Sentences

After a year of the strike "with sporadic bin collections, and rubbish left on the streets", people were tired, she said.

From BBC

Airlines have long had to navigate sporadic flare-ups of armed conflict and missile strikes across Middle East skies.

From The Wall Street Journal

If anything, I found her sporadic phone calls to be comforting.

From Literature

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

From The Wall Street Journal

Rural school was sporadic; household chores—scrubbing shirts, sweeping ashes, carrying wood and water—were endless.

From Literature

Related Words

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