Synonyms for sporadic
- adjective
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Occasional
occasional, intermittent, spasmodic, irregular, periodic, scattered, episodic, fitful, stray, adventitious, desultory
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Rare and scattered in occurrence.
- adj. 2
Exhibiting random behavior; patternless.
Related words
- Word family
- sporadical sporadically
Example sentences
- occasional Heather regenerates following occasional burning.
- irregular Rainfall in Algeria has become rare and irregular.
- intermittent Tom is doing intermittent fasting to lose weight.
- unreliable Your only source of income has become unreliable.
- undependable Tom told me that he thought Mary was undependable.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| sporadic | steady | |
| occasional | steady | |
| irregular | falling | |
| intermittent | steady | |
| spasmodic | steady | |
| unreliable | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- stray1
- 6 letters
- single2, fitful2
- 8 letters
- separate3, isolated4, periodic4, episodic4
- 9 letters
- scattered2, irregular4, spasmodic3, desultory4
- 10 letters
- occasional4, unreliable5, sporadical, instantial
- 12 letters
- intermittent4, adventitious, undependable
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (single2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- sporadique
- Italiano
- sporadico
- Español
- esporádico
- Deutsch
- sporadisch