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Definition of "sporadic" []

  • Occurring at irregular intervals; having no pattern or order in time. See Synonyms at periodic. (adjective)
  • Appearing singly or at widely scattered localities, as a plant or disease. (adjective)
  • Isolated; unique: a sporadic example. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "sporadic" in a sentence
  • "They've done a good job in reaching out to what we call sporadic voters."
  • "And so I think it's a whole new paradigm for pollsters right now, because they're not sure how to reach these new voters and what they call sporadic voters, which the Obama campaign really thinks they're getting to."
  • "But the forward element of the 1st Battalion 7th Marines has pushed into this troubled area and they have reported what they call sporadic fighting that has been taking place up there."