recurrent
ri-KUR-uhnt
/rɪˈkʌrənt/
Occurring often or repeatedly.
Suggests a pattern where something goes away and then comes back. It is very common in medical and psychological contexts.
The story behind the word. From Latin 're-' (back) + 'currere' (to run). It literally means 'running back' to you.
Word relationships
- recurring: Recurring is the participle form and is often interchangeable, but recurrent is the preferred adjective in formal writing.
- isolated: An isolated event happens only once.
Commonly confused with
- continual: Continual emphasizes the frequency; recurrent emphasizes the 'coming back' aspect.
Word family
- recur (verb): To happen again.
- recurrence (noun): The act of happening again.
Collocations
- recurrent theme
- recurrent problem
- recurrent dream
Example sentences
- "The patient suffered from recurrent headaches that seemed to be triggered by stress." Medical diagnosis.
- "The loss of innocence is a recurrent theme in 20th-century American literature." Literary analysis.
Memory hook
Recurrent = Re-Current. It's like a current that flows back to you again and again. A boomerang.
When not to use
Don't use for something that happens only once or twice; it needs to be a recognizable pattern.
Fun facts
- In mathematics, a 'recurrent sequence' is one where each term is defined as a function of the preceding terms.
Related words
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