sporadically

adverb

spo·​rad·​i·​cal·​ly spə-ˈra-di-k(ə-)lē 

: in a sporadic manner : not regularly or constantly

gunfire being heard sporadically

software updates that appear sporadically

Originally from the western Pacific Ocean, the shrimp have been spotted sporadically in U.S. waters for the past two decades.

—Rick Jervis

Even when the sun is being well behaved, parcels of plasma shoot sporadically toward Earth's dark side, prompting a bright aurora and intensifying radiation belts.

—Tim Beardsley

Examples of sporadically in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Most of the counts in the indictment were for alleged violations of the Espionage Act, a law first passed in 1917 and sporadically amended since then. —Amy Davidson Sorkin, The New Yorker, 16 July 2024

His unspecified illness extends a sporadically tumultuous past few weeks for Wallen. —Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 12 July 2024

Keys, which don’t actually open anything, at least not in Boca, appear to be gifted sporadically and at the sitting mayor’s discretion. —Abigail Hasebroock, Sun Sentinel, 10 July 2024

The Civic Republic Military has popped up sporadically on The Walking Dead and its spinoffs for a while. —Leah Marilla Thomas, Vulture, 25 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined above