sporadic time

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "sporadic time" is not commonly used in written English and may be confusing.
It could be interpreted as referring to time that occurs irregularly or infrequently, but it lacks clarity and is not a standard expression. Example: "The meetings were scheduled at sporadic times throughout the month, making it difficult to plan."

Science

News & Media

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

It would also reproduce the natural history of the disease in terms of a prolonged and sporadic time span for development, with the variability in course that is characteristic of human cancer.

Breast Cancer Research

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

59 human-written examples

Anna is a bright-eyed romantic — she woos Jacob with a poem — and as their sporadic times together roll by, she literally writes the book of love, a memento-filled chapter a year to help bridge the oceanic gap that threatens to widen between them.

The New York Times

Meetings, designing, follow up, conference calls, travel, etc. can all come at sporadic times.

Huffington Post

It'll try to remember all of the data for other forms you need to fill out at other sporadic times.

WikiHow

4 types of responses were observed: response validation, sporadic fixation time (no choice), shortened fixation time (low awareness), no fixation.

Annals of Intensive Care

The second trade put me on a downhill slalom to sporadic playing time.

The New York Times

For years Ms. Gerring's choreographic career was sporadic, with time off for the births of her three children.

The New York Times - Arts

Slowed by a calf injury in New York and what he now admits was a concussion sustained against Lithuania in Madrid, Love has had sporadic playing time.

The New York Times - Sports

The veteran initially hit well, drawing walks and presenting a power threat, but unlike Polonia and Hill, Canseco is not accustomed to sporadic playing time, and he finished poorly.

The New York Times - Sports

But while the slugger has talked about losing weight during the off-season and coming back to the Yankees as a renewed threat in 2001, he struggled at season's end, and unlike Hill, he is not accustomed to sporadic playing time.

The New York Times - Sports

The advantage in eddy covariance relative to chamber-based measurements is that measurements are integrated over a large area and are continuous, whereas chamber measurements are point measurements and sporadic in time.

Ecological Engineering

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

For clarity, consider replacing "sporadic time" with more common expressions like "irregular intervals" or "occasional moments" to avoid confusion. When describing events that happen at "sporadic times", focus on the irregularity of occurrences.

Common error

Avoid using "sporadic time" when you mean events are simply infrequent. "Sporadic" implies unpredictability in addition to infrequency; if the timing is known but rare, use "infrequent" or "occasional" instead.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "sporadic time" functions as an adjectival modifier describing the characteristic of irregularity or infrequency associated with a period. As seen in Ludwig, the phrase, although not common, appears across different contexts. "The meetings were scheduled at sporadic times throughout the month, making it difficult to plan."

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

38%

News & Media

31%

Wiki

8%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

3%

Formal & Business

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

While "sporadic time" isn't inherently incorrect, Ludwig AI identifies it as an uncommon and potentially unclear phrase. It's used to describe events occurring irregularly or infrequently. For improved clarity, consider alternatives like ""irregular intervals"" or ""occasional moments"". As Ludwig's analysis reveals, while appearing in diverse sources such as science, news, and wiki contexts, the phrase's infrequency suggests prioritizing more common and readily understood alternatives in writing.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

intermittent periods

Replaces "sporadic" with "intermittent" and "time" with "periods", focusing on the pauses between occurrences.

occasional moments

Substitutes "sporadic" with "occasional" and "time" with "moments", emphasizing the infrequency and brevity of the occurrences.

irregular intervals

Replaces "sporadic" with "irregular" and "time" with "intervals", highlighting the uneven spacing between events.

inconsistent timing

Replaces "sporadic" with "inconsistent" and rephrases "time" as "timing", focusing on the lack of predictability in when events occur.

erratic schedule

Replaces "sporadic" with "erratic" and "time" with "schedule", suggesting an unpredictable and unstable pattern.

unpredictable timing

Focuses on the lack of predictability of when events happen.

random occurrences

Highlights the chance nature of events, replacing "sporadic" with "random" and "time" with "occurrences".

infrequent moments

Emphasizes that the moments happen rarely, replacing "sporadic" with "infrequent" and "time" with "moments".

scattered instances

Indicates that occurrences are dispersed and not regularly patterned.

isolated incidents

Highlights that events are single and not part of a larger pattern.

FAQs

What does "sporadic time" mean?

While not a standard phrase, "sporadic time" generally refers to time periods that occur irregularly or infrequently. It implies that the occurrences are unpredictable and not consistently spaced.

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

While technically correct, consider rephrasing. For example, instead of "The meetings were scheduled at sporadic times", try "The meetings were scheduled at "irregular intervals"" or "The meetings were held at "occasional moments"".

What's a better alternative to "sporadic time"?

Depending on the context, alternatives like "intermittent periods", ""irregular intervals"", or ""occasional moments"" might be clearer and more commonly used.

Is "sporadic time" grammatically incorrect?

No, it's not strictly grammatically incorrect, but it's an uncommon phrasing that might cause confusion. It is better to use intermittent periods or "irregular intervals" for better clarity.