Adverb denoting the occurrence of something in distinct, intermittent periods or episodes; not continuous or constant. It suggests events happening at irregular intervals, separated by periods of inactivity or absence. The 'episode' can be of varying lengths, and the frequency of these occurrences can fluctuate, ranging from rare instances to more common ones. It highlights a pattern of breaks or pauses interrupting an otherwise ongoing process or activity. Things occurring episodically lack a consistent, unbroken flow and are, by nature, unpredictable to some degree in their timing, though some level of regularity may still be present. The term emphasizes the temporal aspect, focusing on when and how often something occurs rather than necessarily on its cause or effect. The events may have a casual relationship, forming a series of episodes in a larger narrative.
Episodically meaning with examples
- The museum's exhibits were updated episodically, with new displays appearing every few months. This made repeat visits worthwhile as the content was always evolving and fresh. Visitors often found their expectations of seeing the latest exhibit heightened as they waited for it to be displayed. The episodic nature of the changes, however, frustrated some who wanted a complete tour at a single time, as sections were consistently unavailable due to these periodic shifts.
- Her chronic pain flared episodically, making it difficult for her to plan her social life. Some weeks she was energetic and outgoing, while other times she had to cancel plans. This impacted her relationships, which developed a sense of understanding for her. It was a challenge for her to maintain consistent commitments; her capacity for involvement changed according to her condition's current episodic state. Her friends and family were sympathetic to her condition.
- The software crashed episodically, usually during peak usage. This meant the IT department worked hard to detect it, which disrupted users' workflow. They had to find the underlying root cause. While not a constant issue, the recurring interruptions caused significant frustration and reduced productivity. Fixing this problem took a long time; their efforts to solve the problem were hampered by the episodic appearance of the bug. It highlighted the need for urgent and targeted debugging.
- The city's power grid experienced outages episodically during the summer, due to high demand. Residents got used to having their power go on and off for hours at a time. These rolling blackouts, though infrequent, were disruptive. Although the authorities had some warning to announce before the outages, there were some unexpected problems and difficulties that ensued, resulting in inconvenience and disruption of normal life. These occurrences emphasized the vulnerability of the city infrastructure.
- The patient's fever spiked episodically, complicating the diagnosis. Doctors worked hard to monitor her condition, observing the variations in the pattern of her symptoms to understand the underlying disease. The sudden jumps in temperature did not follow a predictable schedule; it made the patient unstable. This pattern of occurrence required close and meticulous observation and treatment to stabilize her health. The treatment was customized based on the evolving condition.