adv · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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CMU ARPABET:S P ER0 AE1 D IH0 K L IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adv
Meaning 1
At an occasional, infrequent, or irregular frequency.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adverb
Meaning 2
in a sporadic manner
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
he only works sporadically
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: periodically
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English sporadic Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al Middle English -ly Middle English -ally English -ally English sporadically From sporadic + -ally.
Across languages
Translations
21 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Catalan:
esporàdicament
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Finnish:
satunnaisesti
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Finnish:
hajanaisesti
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Finnish:
aika-ajoin
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Finnish:
sporadisesti
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Galician:
esporadicamente
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
German:
sporadisch
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Greek:
σποραδικά
(sporadiká)
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Hungarian:
szórványosan
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Norwegian Bokmål:
sporadisk
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Persian:
گهگاه
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Polish:
sporadycznie
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Portuguese:
esporadicamente
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Portuguese:
pontualmente
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Spanish:
esporádicamente
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Spanish:
discontinuamente
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Spanish:
intermitentemente
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Spanish:
a rachas
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Spanish:
a trompicones
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Vietnamese:
lẻ tẻ
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner
Vietnamese:
lác đác
— In an occasional, infrequent, or irregular manner