sporadic events

USAGE SUMMARY

"sporadic events" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
You can use it when referring to events that occur infrequently and irregularly. For example, "The townspeople held sporadic events throughout the year as a way to provide entertainment for the community."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

35 human-written examples

Sporadic events since then have led around 17,000 relatives to be briefly reunited.

The Guardian

Mr. Bush will essentially begin doing that this month, with sporadic events during trips from his ranch in Crawford, Tex.

The New York Times

Storytelling in this manner has apparently become so relevant to the moment that it can no longer be confined to a few sporadic events populated by a small group of would-be memoirists.

The New York Times

Tethered to the Capitol, Mr. Maloney has had to rely on sporadic events to publicize the legislation he is working on, and on marquee supporters like President Clinton and the state's popular senators, Joseph I. Lieberman and Christopher J. Dodd.

The New York Times

As the authors point out, Alzheimer's is thought to occur chiefly as a result of inheriting certain genetic mutations causing the familial version of the disease, or from random "sporadic" events within the brain of elderly people, she added.

Independent

Superimposed to this cyclic behavior, there are sporadic events such as the Maunder minimum, during which very few sunspots were detected.

Advances in Space Research

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

25 human-written examples

It wasn't just a sporadic event".

The New York Times - Science

After 1737 the Salon became an annual rather than a sporadic event, and in 1748 the jury system of selection was introduced.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Steel silo failure is not a sporadic event in the industrial field.

Engineering Failure Analysis

The ratio exceeds 1 for the case of Na during the sporadic event and is less than 1 for Fe throughout the night of 18 19 March 2004.

Earth, Planets and Space

Sequentially executed instructions are not branching and all instructions except monitor instructions and invocations yielding the firing of a sporadic event are non-breakable.

EURASIP Journal on Embedded Systems

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When describing events that occur unpredictably and with no fixed pattern, "sporadic events" is a suitable phrase. Use it to convey the irregularity and infrequency of such occurrences.

Common error

Avoid using "sporadic events" to describe occurrences that are part of a deliberate or regular process. "Sporadic" implies randomness and lack of a defined schedule, while "systematic" suggests the opposite.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "sporadic events" functions as a noun phrase, where "sporadic" modifies the noun "events". This phrase is used to describe occurrences that are infrequent, irregular, or scattered in time and Ludwig AI confirms that is correct and usable.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

Science

62%

News & Media

26%

Formal & Business

3%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

2%

Reference

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "sporadic events" is a grammatically correct and frequently used phrase to describe occurrences that are infrequent and irregular. Ludwig AI confirms its usability in written English. Predominantly found in scientific and news contexts, the phrase serves to convey the unpredictable nature of certain phenomena. When using this phrase, it is crucial to ensure that the described events genuinely lack a systematic pattern. Alternative phrases, such as "intermittent incidents" or "occasional happenings", can offer subtle shifts in emphasis depending on the specific context.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

intermittent incidents

Replaces "events" with "incidents" and "sporadic" with "intermittent", emphasizing the occasional nature of occurrences.

occasional happenings

Substitutes "events" for "happenings" and "sporadic" for "occasional", indicating less frequent occurrences.

irregular occurrences

Replaces "events" with "occurrences" and "sporadic" with "irregular", highlighting the lack of a fixed pattern.

infrequent episodes

Substitutes "events" for "episodes" and "sporadic" with "infrequent", focusing on the limited number of instances.

isolated instances

Changes "sporadic events" to "isolated instances", stressing the separated and individual nature of the occurrences.

uncommon incidents

By using "uncommon" it emphasizes rarity, while retaining a similar structure.

scattered instances

Replaces "events" with "instances" and "sporadic" with "scattered", highlighting the dispersed nature of events.

random incidents

Changes "sporadic" to "random", emphasizing the unpredictable nature of the events.

rare occurrences

Substitutes "events" with "occurrences" and "sporadic" with "rare", emphasizing infrequency.

seldom events

Replaces "sporadic" with "seldom", implying infrequent occurrence.

FAQs

How can I use "sporadic events" in a sentence?

You can use "sporadic events" to describe things that happen at irregular intervals. For example, "The region experienced "sporadic events" of unrest throughout the year".

What's a good alternative to "sporadic events"?

Depending on the context, you could use phrases like "intermittent incidents", "occasional happenings", or "irregular occurrences".

What does "sporadic events" actually mean?

"Sporadic events" refers to events that happen at inconsistent intervals and are not part of a regular pattern. They are isolated and infrequent occurrences.

Is it better to say "sporadic events" or "random events"?

Both phrases are similar, but "sporadic events" emphasizes the irregularity of timing, while "random incidents" highlights the lack of predictability. The best choice depends on which aspect you want to emphasize.