episodic
Americanadjective
-
pertaining to or of the nature of an episode.
-
divided into separate or tenuously related parts or sections; loosely connected.
an episodic novel.
- Synonyms:
- digressive, wandering, rambling
-
occurring sporadically or incidentally.
adjective
-
resembling or relating to an episode
-
divided into or composed of episodes
-
irregular, occasional, or sporadic
Usage
What does episodic mean? Episodic describes things that are divided into episodes—parts or installments in a series.The word episode is perhaps most popularly used to refer to one of the parts that a TV series is divided into, as in I’ve seen every single episode of The Office. A TV show is especially described as episodic when each episode is its own standalone story, as in Showrunners are planning to make the reboot more episodic, with each episode being its own adventure. (Of course, many shows have episodes that contain a standalone story that also ties into the bigger narrative.)A more general sense of the word episode refers to a specific incident in a continuous series of events or an occurrence of a recurring event. In this way, episodic can be used to describe things that occur occasionally or at irregular intervals. Similar terms are occasional, irregular, and sporadic.Example: Epilepsy is sometimes described as an episodic disability because seizures happen at irregular intervals.
Other Word Forms
- episodically adverb
- nonepisodic adjective
- nonepisodical adjective
- nonepisodically adverb
Etymology
Origin of episodic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Businesses with durable cash flows often command stronger valuation multiples than those dependent on episodic demand.
From MarketWatch
These issues, analysts say, are not episodic irritants but symbols of imbalance.
From BBC
By combining task based experiments with fMRI data, the team found no measurable difference in brain activity between successful episodic and semantic memory retrieval.
From Science Daily
Despite rising levels of educational attainment, U.S. middle-aged adults showed declines in episodic memory -- a pattern not observed in most comparable countries.
From Science Daily
This matters, as it increases the likelihood that policy conflict will be structural, not episodic.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
