Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use sporadic in a sentence

15 example sentences · adjective

Sporadic means (of diseases) occurring in isolated instances; not epidemic. Example: “Some viruses, such as norovirus, cause sporadic outbreaks of gastroenteritis.”

Examples of sporadic by meaning

adjectiveRare and scattered in occurrence.

  • It was a stodgy, weary display from Mourinho’s team with only sporadic moments when they threatened Salvatore Sirigu’s goal and their manager seemed bewildered afterwards when he tried to explain what had gone wrong.2015 March 12, Daniel Taylor, “Chelsea out of Champions League after Thiago Silva sends 10-man PSG through on away goals”, in The Guardian...

More sentences with sporadic

  • Some viruses, such as norovirus, cause sporadic outbreaks of gastroenteritis.From the entry virus
  • Retinoblastoma has two distinct variants, an inherited “familial” form and a sporadic form.2010, Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of All Maladies, Fourth Estate (2011), page 367. From the entry retinoblastoma
  • Quite possibly these northern lords maintained sporadic trade with Guayaquil in pre-Hispanic times.1999, María Rostworowski de Diez Canesco, “Economic Models”, in Harry B. Iceland, transl., History of the Inca Realm, Cambridge…. From the entry sumptuary
  • The first five sporadic groups were discovered by Mathieu in the late nineteenth century.1998, David J. Benson, “Cohomology of Sporadic Groups, Finite Loop Spaces, and the Dickson Invariants”, in Peter H. Kropholler, Graham A.…. From the entry sporadic group
  • "This use was sporadic, sometimes 'bingeful,' but never at an addictive level," Ziegler said.1990 September 28, “Fuhr Suspended One Year by NHL for Using Drugs”, in Los Angeles Times, archived from the original on 08 Aug 2022. From the entry Ziegler
  • We seize on the little felicities – M’s cooking, F’s sporadic culture and old man’s endearingness.1961 April 1–3, John Fowles, “Childlessness”, in Charles Drazin, editor, The Journals, volumes I (1949–1965), New York, N.Y.: Alfred A.…. From the entry miserlily
  • These are sporadic, starting suddenly and unexpectedly and ending just as suddenly.1953, Anthony Flew, A New Approach to Psychical Research, page 28. From the entry poltergeistic
  • Sporadic cases of this distressing disease are always about and epidemics occur from time to time.1921 July 21, L.C. Barnes, “Antidotes for Romaphobia”, in The Watchman-Examiner: A National Baptist Paper, volume 9, number 29, page 919. From the entry Romaphobia
  • Through these intense two days, the provisional battalion endured sporadic artillery attacks, aircraft strafings, and small arms fire.2012, Victor Cleary, The Complete Clarksburg Ohio World War II Guide, page 176. From the entry strafing
  • I can hardly think it possible, with your great distances, though you may come in for some sporadic raids.1942 February 13, Henry Handel Richardson [pseudonym; Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson], edited by Clive Probyn, Bruce Steele, and…. From the entry leavelet
  • Federal troops were used to break sporadic strikes, as in Cold Springs, New York, where workers at a gunworks asked for a wage increase.2001, Seymour Melman, After Capitalism: From Managerialism to Workplace Democracy. From the entry gunworks
  • By Sunday, September 12, the Chinese Communists still had not attacked, they had been confining themselves for the moment to sporadic artillery fire against Quemoy.1963, Dwight Eisenhower, Mandate for Change 1953-1956, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 463. From the entry Quemoy
  • Sporadic cases appeared in Taigu District (Jinzhong City), Xinfu District (Xinzhou City) and Jiancaoping District (Taiyuan City) following Jishan County (Yuncheng City) and Yungang District (Datong City).2022 February 25, “Initiative Letter to Foreign Nationals on COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Linfen City [在临外籍人士疫情防控倡议书]”, in…. From the entry Yungang
  • Abundant phenocrysts and glomerocrysts of altered olivine and fresh clinopyroxene, up to 2 mm across, occur with sporadic microphenocrysts of opaque iron oxide and alkali feldspar (Figure 3.1).2007, F. L. Sutherland et al., “Unusual Baryte-bearing Hybrid Basalt, Bourke-Byrock Area, Northern New South Wales”, in Journal and…. From the entry clinopyroxene

Meaning of sporadic

  1. adjective (of diseases) occurring in isolated instances; not epidemic.
  2. adjective Rare and scattered in occurrence.
  3. adjective Exhibiting random behavior; patternless.

Full definition of sporadic

Questions about sporadic in a sentence

How do you use sporadic in a sentence?
Sporadic is used as an adjective. For example: “Some viruses, such as norovirus, cause sporadic outbreaks of gastroenteritis.”
What is a short sentence with sporadic?
“Some viruses, such as norovirus, cause sporadic outbreaks of gastroenteritis.”
What does sporadic mean?
Sporadic means (of diseases) occurring in isolated instances; not epidemic.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: sporadic (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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