episodic

adjective

ep·​i·​sod·​ic ˌe-pə-ˈsä-dik 

also

-ˈzä- 

variants or less commonly episodical

ˌe-pə-ˈsä-di-kəl 

 also  -ˈzä-

1

: made up of separate especially loosely connected episodes

2

: having the form of an episode

3

: of or limited in duration or significance to a particular episode : temporary

may be able to establish whether the sea-floor spreading is continuous or episodic

—A. I. Hammond

4

: occurring, appearing, or changing at usually irregular intervals : occasional

an episodic illness

episodically

ˌe-pə-ˈsä-di-k(ə-)lē 

 also  -ˈzä-

adverb

Synonyms

• serial
• serialized

Examples of episodic in a Sentence

the long novel was filmed for television as an episodic movie that was shown over the course of five evenings

malaria is characterized by episodic attacks of chills and fever that coincide with mass destruction of blood cells

Recent Examples on the Web

Tom Farrelly, Amanda Duke and Charlotte Coben are episodic writers. —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2025

Rather than being uniform and unambiguously associated with WASP-39b itself, the fluctuating signals of the compounds suggested episodic behavior to Oza and his colleagues, while the composition hinted at an external source. —Nola Taylor Tillman, Scientific American, 13 Oct. 2025

But perhaps selection is more episodic than constant. —James T. Stroud, The Conversation, 13 Oct. 2025

Roberts garnered her first Oscar nomination for this tender, episodic comedy-drama about several generations of women in a small Louisiana town, bonding around a local beauty parlor run by Dolly Parton. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1711, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for episodic

• periodic
• anodic
• melodic
• prosodic
• rhapsodic
• spasmodic
• antispasmodic
• aperiodic
• photoperiodic
• sodic