cyclical

Cyclical is an adjective describing something that occurs in or relates to a cycle or cycles. Derived from the noun cycle, from the Latin cyclus and the Greek kyklos, the term emphasizes repetition and periodicity rather than randomness. In common use, cyclical describes phenomena that repeat over time with a characteristic period, such as day and night, seasons, tides, or economic activity.

In natural and social systems, cyclic processes arise from feedbacks, resource limits, or orbital dynamics. Seasonal cycles govern temperature and precipitation, plant growth, and human activities. In geology and astronomy, cycles include orbital variations and recurring climatic patterns, like El Niño and La Niña that influence weather globally.

In economics, cyclical refers to patterns tied to the business cycle. Cyclical unemployment increases during downturns and declines during expansions, in contrast to frictional unemployment. Cyclical fluctuations also affect demand-sensitive industries, such as construction, manufacturing, and retail, which tend to rise and contract with overall economic activity.

In statistics and data analysis, cyclical patterns are observed as regular fluctuations in time series data. Analysts may model cycles using sine waves or other periodic functions, and detect them with spectral methods. The term cyclical is often contrasted with secular or structural, which denote long-run trends not tied to short-run cycles.

In everyday language, cyclical carries a neutral connotation, simply signaling repetition or recurrence over time. Some cultural or philosophical systems imagine time as cyclical, as opposed to linear progress.