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 of episodic

• 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

Lots to talk about, of course, but reminder that this is an episodic recap and a more formal series review can be found here. —Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026

Almost 100 feature-length and episodic works and 54 short films — curated from 11,480 short film submissions — have screened to audiences in Park City, Salt Lake City, and online, the festival notes. —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 28 Jan. 2026

Of the 90-plus films and episodic series premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in 2026, only about a dozen are arriving at the festival with distribution in hand. —Brian Welk, IndieWire, 27 Jan. 2026

While other episodic galaxies are expected to have similar structures, J1007+3540’s are especially clear. —K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 24 Jan. 2026

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