| Main Entry: | sporadic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | on and off |
Synonyms: |
bits and pieces, desultory, few, fitful, fits and starts, hit-or-miss, infrequent, intermittent, irregular, isolated, occasional, on-again-off-again, random, rare, scarce, scattered, seldom, semioccasional, spasmodic, spotty, uncommon, unfrequent |
| Notes: | periodic means happening or recurring at regular intervals; sporadic means occurring singly or occasionally or in scattered instances |
Antonyms: |
constant, continuous, dependable |
| Main Entry: | episodic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | intermittent; composed of several tales |
Synonyms: |
anecdotal, digressive, disconnected, discursive, disjointed, incidental, irregular, occasional, picaresque, rambling, roundabout, segmented, soap opera, sporadic, wandering |
Antonyms: |
connected, lasting, permanent, regular, unbroken |
| Main Entry: | few |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | hardly any |
Synonyms: |
exiguous, few and far between, imperceptible, inconsequential, inconsiderable, infrequent, insufficient, lean, less, meager, middling, minor, minority, minute, negligible, not many, not too many, occasional, paltry, petty, piddling, rare, scant, scanty, scarce, scarcely any, scattered, scattering, seldom, semioccasional, short, skimpy, slender, slight, slim, some, sparse, sporadic, stingy, straggling, thin, trifling, uncommon, unfrequent, widely spaced |
Antonyms: |
many, much |
| Main Entry: | infrequent |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | not happening regularly |
Synonyms: |
exceptional, few, few and far between, isolated, limited, meager, occasional, odd, rare, scant, scanty, scarce, scattered, seldom, semioccasional, sparse, spasmodic, sporadic, stray, uncommon, unusual |
Antonyms: |
common, frequent, often, usual |
| Main Entry: | irregular |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | random, variable |
Synonyms: |
aberrant, aimless, capricious, casual, changeable, designless, desultory, disconnected, discontinuous, eccentric, erratic, faltering, fitful, fluctuating, fragmentary, haphazard, hit-or-miss, inconstant, indiscriminate, infrequent, intermittent, jerky, nonuniform, occasional, out of order, patchy, purposeless, recurrent, shaky, shifting, spasmodic, sporadic, uncertain, unconsidered, uneven, unmethodical, unpunctual, unreliable, unsettled, unsteady, unsystematic, up and down, weaving |
Antonyms: |
conventional, methodical, regular, systematic |
| Main Entry: | periodic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | at fixed intervals |
Synonyms: |
alternate, annual, at various times, centennial, cyclic, cyclical, daily, epochal, every once in a while, every so often, fluctuating, hourly, infrequent, intermittent, isochronal, isochronous, monthly, occasional, on certain occasions, on-again-off-again, orbital, perennial, periodical, recurrent, recurring, regular, repeated, rhythmic, routine, seasonal, serial, spasmodic, sporadic, weekly, yearly |
| Notes: | periodic means happening or recurring at regular intervals; sporadic means occurring singly or occasionally or in scattered instances |
Antonyms: |
constant, continual, irregular, lasting, permanent, sporadic, variable |
| Main Entry: | rare |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | exceptional, infrequent |
Synonyms: |
attenuate, attenuated, deficient, extraordinary, few, few and far between, flimsy, inconceivable, isolated, light, limited, occasional, out of the ordinary, rarefied, recherché, scanty, scarce, scattered, seldom, semioccasional, short, singular, sparse, sporadic, strange, subtile, subtle, tenuous, thin, uncommon, unfrequent, unheard of, unimaginable, unique, unlikely, unthinkable, unusual, unwonted |
Antonyms: |
common, frequent, regular, typical, usual |
| Main Entry: | scarce |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | insufficient, infrequent |
Synonyms: |
at a premium, deficient, failing, few, few and far between, in short supply, limited, occasional, rare, scant, scanty, seldom, seldom met with, semioccasional, short, shortened, shy, sparse, sporadic, truncated, uncommon, unusual, wanting |
Antonyms: |
abundant, frequent, plentiful, sufficient |
| Main Entry: | sparse |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | very few and scattered |
Synonyms: |
dispersed, exiguous, few and far between, inadequate, infrequent, meager, occasional, poor, rare, scant, scanty, scarce, scrimpy, skimpy, spare, sporadic, thin, uncommon |
Antonyms: |
full, lush, plentiful |
| Main Entry: | spasmodic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | twitching, erratic |
Synonyms: |
bits and pieces, changeable, choppy, convulsive, desultory, fitful, fits and starts, intermittent, irregular, jerky, on-again-off-again, periodic, shaky, spastic, sporadic, spotty, spurtive, uncertain |
Antonyms: |
resting, uninterrupted |