esporádico

Esporádico is an adjective used in Portuguese (and with a closely related form in Spanish) to describe something that occurs at irregular intervals or only occasionally, rather than in a regular, continuous, or predictable pattern. It is often applied to events, phenomena, or actions that do not follow a fixed schedule or frequency, contrasting with terms like regular, constante, or frequente.

Etymology and usage notes: the word derives from Latin sporadicus, through Greek sporadikos, meaning scattered or dispersed. In practice, esporádico can refer to infrequent cases, sporadic events, or intermittent participation. The feminine form is esporádica and the plural is esporádicos (masculine) or esporádicas (feminine).

Contexts of use: in medicine, “casos esporádicos” describe disease instances that occur irregularly and are not clustered in outbreaks. In everyday language, it can refer to rainfall, attendance, or actions that happen only occasionally, such as esporádico trabalho, participação esporádica, or chuva esporádica. It is distinct from terms that imply regularity or persistence and is often used to emphasize lack of a predictable pattern.

See also: sporadic (English).