Is "sporadic" a common word?
Hallo!
Lately I came across the adjective "sporadic". I remember that some years ago I watched a film and this word was used there but a heroine didn't know its meaning.
I want to question native speakers:
1) Is the word "sporadic" widely spread? Or it's the specific one which is strange to even lots of English speacking adults?
2) Sporadic or sporadical - what is more common?
Thank you in advance.

Question

Is "sporadic" a common word?
Hallo!
Lately I came across the adjective "sporadic". I remember that some years ago I watched a film and this word was  used there but a heroine didn't know its meaning.
I want to question native speakers:
1) Is the word "sporadic" widely spread? Or it's the specific one which is strange to even lots of English speacking adults?
2) Sporadic or sporadical - what is more common?
Thank you in advance.

Answer

I use sporadic most often. It is a known word and it's quite good for describing something that doesn't happen often or reliably. Sporadical isn't a word I've used often but is correct too.

Answer

Sporadic is common Ivan.

Answer

Sporadic is not common in everyday life. But it is common in news reports about war ("sporadic fighting"). Sporadical is very uncommon - it's never used.

Answer

"Sporadic" is not a common word, but it is a perfectly good word meaning  "occasional", "isolated", "widely separated", or "irregularly spaced".

I see "sporadical" is in the dictionary, but I have never come across it myself.

Answer

To Peachey. Yes! If I receive the answer that this is very specific word, about 98% of grown-up well-educated native speakers have hardly heard it even once in a lifetime I wouldn’t pay my attention to this word. I don’t want to be incomprehensible or ridicules. )))

Thank you and everybody who responded for your answers.