sporadic
/spəˈɹæd.ɪk/adjective
sporadic is spelled S-P-O-R-A-D-I-C: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, sporadic means “Rare and scattered in occurrence” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sporadic?
| Letters | 8: S-P-O-R-A-D-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 19,825th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is sporadic?
Sporadic appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sporadic?
- US /spəˈɹæd.ɪk/
Sporadic has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-sporadic.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with sporadic?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as sporadic from its last stressed vowel (/ædɪk/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sporadic
- more sporadic comparative
- most sporadic superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sporadic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
archaic(of diseases) occurring in isolated instances; not epidemic.
- 2
Rare and scattered in occurrence.
- 3
Exhibiting random behavior; patternless.
- 4
Not belonging to any infinite family; an exception to an otherwise orderly classification.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sporadic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sporadique |
| German | sporadisch |
| Portuguese | esporádico, pontual |
| Spanish | esporádico , guadianesco |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sporadic come from?
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]”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).