recurrent

adjective re·cur·rent \ ri-ˈkər-ənt , -ˈkə-rənt \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Editor's Note: recurrent vs. recurring

Definition of recurrent

1 : running or turning back in a direction opposite to a former course —used of various nerves and branches of vessels in the arms and legs

2 : returning or happening time after time

recurrent complaints

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recurrently

adverb

See recurrent defined for English-language learners

See recurrent defined for kids

Examples of recurrent in a Sentence

The loss of innocence is a recurrent theme in his stories.
had recurrent problems with the computer for months and finally junked it

Recent Examples of recurrent from the Web

Knowing this could be a recurrent danger as the weather warms, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue issued a fresh warning about the risk Tuesday.

— caitlin o'kane, CBS News, "Fire department issues warning about kids getting burned by garden hoses left in the sun," 5 June 2018
That gives the lie to a recurrent Republican meme that disability is little more than a haven for layabouts and malingerers.

— michael hiltzik, latimes.com, "Social Security and Medicare trustees confirm: GOP policies have hurt both programs," 5 June 2018
Also, for chronic recurrent depression that can be difficult to treat, additional options like electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can be very effective.

— madelyn fernstrom, NBC News, "Understanding your treatment options for depression," 1 June 2018
And one of Barker’s stepdaughters was shuttling from her Pennsylvania home to a Boston hospital for treatment of the recurrent breast cancer that would prove fatal at age 40.

— sandra g. boodman, Washington Post, "At night she suffered through searing pain, by morning it mysteriously vanished," 26 May 2018
Sergei Kislyak served as Russia's ambassador in Washington from 2008 until his tenure ended last year amid scrutiny of his recurrent meetings with the Trump campaign staff.

— Fox News, "Russia's ex-US envoy: Trump wants better ties with Russia," 25 May 2018
Chromosomal abnormalities can cause both one-time miscarriages and recurrent miscarriages.

— korin miller, SELF, "These Twins Both Had Miscarriages—and Now They're Pregnant Together," 2 Apr. 2018
The issue of potential age discrimination is recurrent in the tech industry, where the workforces at many firms skew younger and the pace of change is often rapid.

— georgia wells, WSJ, "Intel Faces Age-Discrimination Claims," 25 May 2018
To prepare for the worst, air marshals receive 16 weeks of training divided between Artesia, N.M., and Atlantic City, N.J., and 20 days a year of recurrent training.

— bart jansen, USA TODAY, "Terror in the skies: TSA's air marshals are 'last line of defense,' but is the program really needed?," 17 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'recurrent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

recurrent vs. recurring

Is there a difference between recurring and recurrent? As is so often the case with nearly identical words, the answer is "yes and no." Both words are most commonly used in the sense "happening time after time." But recurrent, the more commonly-used of the two, tends to appear more often in medical contexts, as in “recurrent fevers” or “recurrent cancer.” It also has a specialized anatomical sense, "running or turning back in a direction opposite to a former course,” as in “a recurrent artery,” that recurring does not share. There are certainly circumstances in which either recurrent or recurring could be used; pain or needs might be described as either recurrent or recurring. But even in such cases, there may be subtle differences which you may wish to pay attention to. Recurrent tends to suggest a coming back of something that has existed before, whereas recurring often implies simply a repeated occurrence.