sporadic

/spəˈɹæd.ɪk/

//spəˈɹæd.ɪk// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"sporadic" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sporadic” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,978. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,978
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - (of diseases) occurring in isolated instances; not epidemic.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sporadic · sporadic · English

sporadic · rank #19,978 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,978
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH spiritually

Nearest frequency peer: spiritually (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “sporadic”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “sporadic” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for sporadic
PropertyValue
Headwordsporadic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/spəˈɹæd.ɪk/
Letters8
Frequency rank#19,978
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sporadic”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).sporadiclands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “spiritually” (#19,977), “stationery” (#19,979), “specialization” (#19,976). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sporadic” is #19,978. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around sporadic (IPA /spəˈɹæd.ɪk/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #19,978 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for sporadic, with forms such as "psoradic", "sopradic", and "spoardic". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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]”). The correct English form is sporadic, spelled S-P-O-R-A-D-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    (of diseases) occurring in isolated instances; not epidemic.
  2. 2
    Rare and scattered in occurrence.
  3. 3
    Exhibiting random behavior; patternless.
  4. 4
    Not belonging to any infinite family; an exception to an otherwise orderly classification.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how sporadic appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 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.

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]”).

This word in other languages

esporádico(Español)sporadique(Français)sporadisch(Deutsch)esporádico(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psoradic
  • sopradic
  • spoardic
  • sporadci
  • sporaddic
  • sporadicc
  • sporaidc
  • spordaic
  • sporradic
  • spporadic
  • sproadic
  • ssporadic

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sporadic - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

psoradic2sopradic2spoardic2sporadci2sporaddic1sporadicc1sporaidc2spordaic2
Edit distance from "sporadic"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sporadic"?
"sporadic" is spelled S-P-O-R-A-D-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /spəˈɹæd.ɪk/.
What does "sporadic" mean?
As an adjective, "sporadic" means: (of diseases) occurring in isolated instances; not epidemic.
What are common misspellings of "sporadic"?
Common misspellings include "psoradic", "sopradic", "spoardic", "sporadci", "sporaddic". The correct spelling is "sporadic".
How do you pronounce "sporadic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sporadic" is /spəˈɹæd.ɪk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sporadic"?
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... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sporadic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Sudanese#19,980recourse#19,957readable#19,956Tuesdays#20,000

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

prettiest12 variantswearable12 variantswreckage12 variantsplaybook12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list