sporadic

/spə'rædik/ Cách viết khác : (sporadical) /spə'rædikəl/

Thân thiện

The city experienced sporadic rainfall throughout the afternoon.

Definition

Adjective 1. Occurring at irregular intervals; not continuous or steady: Describes something that happens occasionally, with breaks in between, and without a fixed pattern. 2. Scattered or isolated in occurrence: Refers to instances that are few, separate, and spread out over time or space.

Usage

The adjective "sporadic" is used to describe events, actions, or phenomena that are infrequent and unpredictable. It emphasizes a lack of regularity, consistency, or pattern. * It is often used to describe negative or undesirable events (e.g., violence, outages, errors) but can also describe neutral phenomena (e.g., sightings, showers). * Common collocations include: sporadic fighting, sporadic outbreaks, sporadic rainfall, sporadic attendance, sporadic gunfire.

Examples

• Adjective:
  • The region experienced sporadic showers throughout the afternoon.
  • His attendance at the meetings was sporadic at best.
  • We could hear sporadic gunfire in the distance throughout the night.

Advanced Usage

• "to be sporadic in (doing) something": To do something in an irregular or inconsistent manner.
  • The company has been sporadic in its efforts to address customer complaints.
• "sporadically" (Adverb): In a sporadic manner.
  • He only writes to his family sporadically.

Variants and Related Words

• Sporadically (adv.): In a scattered, infrequent, or irregular way.
  • The old lighthouse light flashes sporadically.
• Sporadical (adj.): A less common variant with the same meaning as "sporadic."

Synonyms

• Intermittent: Stopping and starting at intervals.
• Occasional: Happening or done from time to time.
• Irregular: Not occurring at expected or equal intervals.
• Scattered: Occurring or found at intervals or various locations rather than all together.

Antonyms

• Constant: Occurring continuously over a period of time.
• Continuous: Forming an unbroken whole; without interruption.
• Regular: Arranged in or constituting a constant or definite pattern.
• Steady: Regular, even, and continuous in development, frequency, or intensity.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. recurring in scattered and irregular or unpredictable instances
   • a city subjected to sporadic bombing raids