Infrequently

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /ɪnˈfɹiːkwənt.li/

Definitions

1. Not often or rarely occurring; happening at irregular intervals with long gaps in between
2. Occurring with low frequency or seldom seen
3. appearing at irregular intervals rather than consistently or regularly

Etymology: "Infrequently" is a plain English formation, built from "infrequent" plus the adverb ending "-ly". The adjective "infrequent" combines the prefix "in-", meaning "not", with "frequent", which comes from the Latin "frequens", meaning "crowded" or "occurring in large numbers." So the word literally means "not crowded" in the sense of "not packed together in time," and only later came to describe events that happen at long intervals. The adverb could also be read as "in-" attached directly to "frequently," giving the same result by a slightly different route. Either way, the negative prefix is what turns the sense of frequency around, so the word describes actions that happen seldom rather than often.

Synonyms: rarely, seldom, occasionally

Antonyms: frequently, often, regularly