oftentimes

adverb

of·​ten·​times ˈȯ-fən-ˌtīmz 

ˈȯf-tən-

: on many occasions : often

The quickness of the hand oftentimes deceives the eye.

—W. V. Quine

Seemingly untoward events oftentimes lead to successful results.

—Herman Melville

Oftentimes they were asleep, but occasionally might be heard talking together …

—Nathaniel Hawthorne

A man's ignorance sometimes is not only useful, but beautiful – while his knowledge, so called, is oftentimes worse than useless …

—Henry David Thoreau

Oftentimes cyclists mistake dehydration for hunger.

—Brian Wansink

Did you know?

Despite its archaic, literary ring, oftentimes is quite alive today. In fact, it seems to be more popular now than it was in past decades, appearing frequently both in written expression and in speech. Oftentimes was first used in the 14th century (the same century that gave us often), and its meaning hasn't changed—as meanings oftentimes will—in all that time. It was formed as an extension of its slightly older synonym ofttimes. Today ofttimes is less common, but oft (which comes from Old English and also means "often" or "frequently") is popular in combination with past participles, as in oft-praised.

Synonyms

• again and again
• constantly
• continually
• frequently
• hourly
• much
• oft
• often
• over and over
• repeatedly

Examples of oftentimes in a Sentence

Oftentimes, he is the only man in the aerobics class.

children oftentimes don't realize how quickly time passes

Recent Examples on the Web

My husband Bruno and I then blundered into the oftentimes awkward blending of our family of five daughters. —Amy Dickinson, The Mercury News, 24 May 2024

My mom is oftentimes my litmus test of whether or not something is working. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 23 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

oftentimes

adverb

of·​ten·​times -ˌtīmz 

variants or ofttimes

ˈȯf(t)-ˌtīmz 

: often