Dictionary

sporadic en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /spəˈɹæd.ɪk/ (UK, US)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Medieval Latin sporadicus (whence also French sporadique, Italian sporadico, Spanish esporádico), from Ancient Greek σποραδικός (sporadikós), from σποράς (sporás, “scattered, dispersed”), from σπορά (sporá), σπόρος (spóros, “a sowing [of seed]”).

Meanings

1. (archaic) (of diseases) occurring in isolated instances; not epidemic.
2. Rare and scattered in occurrence.
   • It was a stodgy, weary display from Mourinho’s team with only sporadic moments when they threatened Salvatore Sirigu’s goal and their manager seemed bewildered afterwards when he tried to explain what had gone wrong. 2015 March 12, Daniel Taylor, “Chelsea out of Champions League after Thiago Silva sends 10-man PSG through on away goals”, in The Guardian (London):
3. Exhibiting random behavior; patternless.
4. Not belonging to any infinite family; an exception to an otherwise orderly classification.

Forms

Deriveds

sporadic E · nonsporadic · sporadic group · sporadicity

Relateds

sporadical · sporadicalness · sporadically

Synonyms

episodic

Translations (52)

tr tek tük (rare and scattered in occurrence) · ru споради́ческий (rare and scattered in occurrence) · fi satunnainen (exhibiting random behaviour) · nl sporadisch (rare and scattered in occurrence) · ru случа́йный (rare and scattered in occurrence) · be спарады́чны (rare and scattered in occurrence) · pl sporadyczny (rare and scattered in occurrence) · pt pontual (rare and scattered in occurrence) · bn বিক্ষিপ্ত (rare and scattered in occurrence) · es esporádico (rare and scattered in occurrence) · sv sporadisk (rare and scattered in occurrence) · nb sporadisk (rare and scattered in occurrence) · sh sporadičan (rare and scattered in occurrence) · fi hajanainen (exhibiting random behaviour) · de sporadisch (rare and scattered in occurrence) · da sporadisk (rare and scattered in occurrence) · sh спорадичан (rare and scattered in occurrence) · cmn 無常 /无常 (rare and scattered in occurrence) · fr sporadique (rare and scattered in occurrence) · bg случаен (rare and scattered in occurrence) · it sporadico (rare and scattered in occurrence) · gl esporádico (rare and scattered in occurrence) · id sporadis (rare and scattered in occurrence) · fi satunnainen (rare and scattered in occurrence) · bg единичен (rare and scattered in occurrence) · es esporádico (exhibiting random behaviour) · tl manaka-naka (rare and scattered in occurrence) · uk споради́чний (rare and scattered in occurrence) · ru спорадический (exhibiting random behaviour) · es guadianesco (exhibiting random behaviour) · uk споради́чний (exhibiting random behaviour) · fi sporadinen (rare and scattered in occurrence) · la sporadicus (rare and scattered in occurrence) · cmn 哩哩啦啦 (rare and scattered in occurrence) · cs sporadický (rare and scattered in occurrence) · ja 散発的な (rare and scattered in occurrence) · ast esporádicu (rare and scattered in occurrence) · fi sporadinen (exhibiting random behaviour) · cmn 偶爾發生的 /偶尔发生的 (rare and scattered in occurrence) · fi harvinainen (rare and scattered in occurrence) · el σποραδικός (rare and scattered in occurrence) · ca esporàdic (rare and scattered in occurrence) · ru едини́чный (rare and scattered in occurrence) · tr ara sıra (rare and scattered in occurrence) · grc σπορᾰδῐκός (rare and scattered in occurrence) · cs ojedinělý (rare and scattered in occurrence) · bg спорадичен (exhibiting random behaviour) · ro sporadic (rare and scattered in occurrence) · ca esporàdic (exhibiting random behaviour) · pt esporádico (rare and scattered in occurrence) · cmn 散亂 /散乱 (rare and scattered in occurrence) · cmn 零星 (rare and scattered in occurrence)