pe·ri·od·ic  (pîr ′ē- ŏd ĭk)
Share:
adj.1. Having or marked by repeated cycles: periodic oscillations. 2. Happening or appearing regularly or from time to time: periodic dental checkups; periodic rain showers. 3. Characterized by periodic sentences.
pe′ri·odi·cal·ly adv.
Synonyms: periodic, sporadic, intermittent, occasional These adjectives all mean recurring or reappearing now and then. Something periodic occurs at regular or unsurprising intervals: periodic disruptions in electricity. Sporadic implies scattered, irregular, unpredictable, or isolated instances: spies who could manage only sporadic contact. Intermittent describes something that stops and starts, often with no discernable pattern: heard intermittent gunfire in the distance. What is occasional happens randomly and irregularly: a retired celebrity still making occasional appearances in public. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage Dictionary Blog
This website is best viewed in Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Safari. Some characters in pronunciations and etymologies cannot be displayed properly in Internet Explorer.