sporadically

[spuh-rad-ik-uh-lee]

adverb

1. every now and then; at irregular intervals in time.

   Ox-eye sunflowers bloom sporadically throughout the summer.

2. here and there; in scattered locations.

   Little candles, placed sporadically among the chapel pews, lit up people’s faces.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sporadically¹

First recorded in 1675–85; sporadic ( def. ) + -ally ( def. )

Example Sentences

His regime has shown itself sporadically willing to crack down on protest or detain more vocal critics.

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Vidal, the second-year running back who played sporadically last season, didn’t make the 53-man roster to begin the season.

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Modest changes to the boundaries of the regional banks have happened sporadically over the past century.

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Drones and missiles have sporadically veered into countries bordering Ukraine in the years since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

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Of course conservatives complained about all this constantly and at great length, and sporadically tried to organize boycotts or other counterattacks against such shibboleths as “affirmative action,” “political correctness,” “multiculturalism” and “cultural Marxism.”

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Related Words

• intermittently 
• now and then www.thesaurus.com
• occasionally 
• rarely 
• seldom 
• sparingly