sporadic
/spəˈɹæd.ɪk/
"sporadic" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sporadic” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #19,978 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #19,978
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - (of diseases) occurring in isolated instances; not epidemic.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sporadic |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /spəˈɹæd.ɪk/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #19,978 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sporadic” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for sporadic is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /spəˈɹæd.ɪk/. Corpus data places it at rank #19,978 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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(of diseases) occurring in isolated instances; not epidemic.
- 2Rare and scattered in occurrence.
- 3Exhibiting random behavior; patternless.
- 4Not belonging to any infinite family; an exception to an otherwise orderly classification.
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
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.
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"?
What does "sporadic" mean?
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Using “sporadic”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-P-O-R-A-D-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /spəˈɹæd.ɪk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.