adjective

• 1Appearing or occurring at intervals.

  ‘the periodic visits she made to her father’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Despite this, he has continued to appear regularly at our periodic family gatherings, and is considered a family member in good standing.’
  • ‘Each recommended practice is reviewed and revised as appropriate at regular periodic intervals.’
  • ‘At periodic intervals, the iron bars at the mouth of narrow roads, put up to prevent the entry of heavy vehicles, are knocked down by lorries, due to reckless driving.’
  • ‘Having experienced spells of acute water scarcity at periodic intervals, people do lament over the waste of the precious resource in such times.’
  • ‘The training should be provided to all ranks from the highest to the lowest and should be given at periodic intervals, not just at the start of the job.’
  • ‘They crop up in one form or the other at periodic intervals.’
  • ‘Emotion is kept in check - rage and pain appear suddenly, like periodic explosions.’
  • ‘The continued need for 6-yearly periodic reviews has also been questioned.’
  • ‘New Zealand is to present its next periodic report on compliance with the UN convention in September this year.’
  • ‘Leases for a fixed term and periodic tenancies are the types of lease most frequently encountered.’
  • ‘By contrast, the letting of the basement on a weekly tenancy is an example of a periodic tenancy.’
  • ‘We further enhance the safety by periodic rebalancing of the weaker and stronger fund.’
  • ‘So every one of our portfolios has always been planned and recommended for periodic rebalancing.’
  • ‘Therefore, we recommend that periodic surveys for flying squirrels continue at approximately 10 year intervals.’
  • ‘Some economists argue that periodic credit crunches are the price emerging markets must pay for faster growth.’
  • ‘A baby who has periodic breathing resumes regular breathing on his or her own.’
  • ‘Although it can be frightening, periodic breathing typically causes no other problems in newborns.’
  • ‘At this stage, the client needs periodic support as well as training in relapse prevention.’
  • ‘Roofs are like heating and cooling systems: The equipment needs periodic cleaning and tuning for peak efficiency.’
  • ‘Maintaining the transformation merits and requires a periodic update on where social history stands.’

  Synonyms

  regular, periodical, at fixed intervals, recurrent, recurring, repeated, cyclical, cyclic, seasonal

  View synonyms

• 2Chemistry
  Relating to the periodic table of the elements.

  ‘The steadily increasing weights gave Mendeleyev, Meyer, and others a kind of index by which to order the elements and reveal their periodic behaviour.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘The study of oscillating reactions is the study of periodic changes in chemical reactions.’
  • ‘The first rough draft of the periodic elements signaled not the end but the beginning of chemistry.’
  • ‘The periodic table has since been expanded to 81 stable and 31 radioactive elements.’
  • ‘Bismuth is the fifth and last element in Group 15 of the periodic table.’

• 3Relating to a rhetorical period.

  More example sentences

  • ‘However, in the late 18th century there was a return to the periodic Latinate style.’