How to Use sporadic in a Sentence

sporadic

adjective
  • Sporadic cases of the disease were reported.
  • The work is sporadic and the field is tough to break into.
    Lynn Q. Yu, Los Angeles Magazine, 9 Apr. 2018
  • Over the next few weeks, the rainy season set in, and our swims grew more sporadic.
    Allison Keeley, The New Yorker, 12 July 2021
  • In the years since, the volcano has triggered sporadic swarms of tiny quakes.
    Christopher Intagliata, Scientific American, 20 Dec. 2021
  • Young’s on-court role has been sporadic as the Spurs work to find a taker.
    Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 17 Dec. 2021
  • The mall was the target of sporadic protests over several months in the wake of the shooting.
    Fox News, 21 Nov. 2020
  • Here's the thing: The reports of great service are sporadic.
    Christopher Elliott, USA TODAY, 26 July 2024
  • There were sporadic protests across the nation, and these threatened to grow in size.
    Keith Gessen, The New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2022
  • Much of the area could pick up an inch of rain, which should become lighter and more sporadic overnight.
    David Streit, Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2022
  • And that means the mailbag might be a bit more sporadic than usual the next few weeks.
    Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 26 June 2024
  • The moonlight cast shadows along the frozen creek, whose bank held a sporadic growth of birch trees.
    Steve Meyer, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Nov. 2019
  • But the process has been almost upside down and a bit sporadic.
    Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
  • And if there are some sporadic issues, they'll be dealt with.
    CBS News, 5 Sep. 2019
  • The way the rest of the team has performed has made the save situations sporadic.
    Jeff Fletcher, Orange County Register, 21 May 2024
  • Heat was sporadic, with a balky boiler that belched black smoke.
    New York Times, 20 Jan. 2022
  • Between all these forecasts, the chance of rain in the metro is low and sporadic today.
    Natalie Wallington, Kansas City Star, 4 July 2024
  • Barnwell heard the sporadic shots and then kids running.
    Maggie Prosser, Dallas News, 7 May 2023
  • France has suffered sporadic attacks in the years since.
    Keir Simmons, NBC News, 27 Mar. 2024
  • Since then, the two countries have been mired in a sporadic shooting war which has killed dozens more.
    Kevin Collier, NBC News, 25 May 2023
  • But the work was sporadic and her physical agony was acute.
    Fortesa Latifi, Glamour, 1 Nov. 2023
  • Winds will likely be light with a chance of sporadic showers.
    Jessica Villagomez, chicagotribune.com, 26 Nov. 2019
  • And with each sporadic update came new questions and hot takes.
    Bailey Loosemore, The Courier-Journal, 16 Oct. 2017
  • Weeks before the referendum, sporadic signs for and against it were placed in yards across the city.
    Meredith Colias, Post-Tribune, 4 Nov. 2017
  • Would Brigadoon seem as special, if the whole world turned out for its sporadic occurences?
    Chris Willman, Variety, 9 Aug. 2024
  • Just like feeders here, the video-feed action is sporadic.
    Jim Williams, Star Tribune, 8 Dec. 2020
  • And the fossil record is so sporadic that a species as short-lived as us (at least so far) might never find a place in it.
    Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 26 Oct. 2022
  • This is prime habitat for the plant, and where re-wilding has had sporadic success.
    Ali Martin, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Aug. 2023
  • States are moving to re-open, even as testing for the virus is sporadic and lacking in scope.
    Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 19 Apr. 2020
  • Shelling had been sporadic, and much of the Russian artillery fire was aimed over their heads at Irpin, the next town over.
    New York Times, 11 Apr. 2022
  • Over the last six years, the series remained sporadic and informal.
    Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sporadic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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