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
Etymology
Origin of episodic
Explanation
If you have an episodic interest in professional sports, you pay attention to sports from time to time, but you're not a regular fan. The adjective episodic is often used to mean "occasional" or "every once in a while." If you have a bad cough that comes and goes, you could call it an "episodic condition." When used in this way, episodic suggests that the cough appears at irregular, or random, intervals. Episodic can also describe the way certain stories are told. An "episodic narrative" is a story that is told through a series of episodes, or segments. A soap opera on television, for instance, is an episodic program.
Vocabulary lists containing episodic
Reading: Literature - Middle School
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Reading: Literature - High School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 2
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Clue leads to clue in next to no time, this being an episodic show that needs to tie a bow around an investigation in something like 42 minutes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
If the film feels episodic while tracking the detours of the four—some antic, others grave—that’s partly the point: Among other things, the movie is a brief for leisure as a source of pleasure and disclosure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
“There was this whole museum movement to get away from a march through time, to a more episodic or specific sort of story,” John Gray, who succeeded Glass in 2012, told ProPublica.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
They are also a spectrum condition, she said, from episodic - meaning people have mild or rare attacks - to chronic where they have more than 15 days a month affected by migraine symptoms.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
My narrative, while willfully episodic in character—no comprehensive coverage of all events is claimed—follows a chronological line, with one significant exception.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
