recurrent
adjective
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Recurrent vs. Recurring
Is there a difference between recurring and recurrent? As is so often the case with nearly identical words, the answer is "yes and no." Both words are most commonly used in the sense "happening time after time." But recurrent, the more commonly-used of the two, tends to appear more often in medical contexts, as in “recurrent fevers” or “recurrent cancer.” It also has a specialized anatomical sense, "running or turning back in a direction opposite to a former course,” as in “a recurrent artery,” that recurring does not share. There are certainly circumstances in which either recurrent or recurring could be used; pain or needs might be described as either recurrent or recurring. But even in such cases, there may be subtle differences which you may wish to pay attention to. Recurrent tends to suggest a coming back of something that has existed before, whereas recurring often implies simply a repeated occurrence.
Synonyms
Examples of recurrent in a Sentence
Amber J. Tresca, Verywell Health, 24 Oct. 2024
There’s a recurrent overstating of baseball’s significance: the satirist Ring Lardner called it the World Serious.
—Nicholas Dawidoff, The New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2024
However, ocular exposure to sulfur mustard can also produce long-term effects, including recurrent inflammation and erosion of the cornea.
—New Atlas, 27 Oct. 2024
Pfeifer said a key indicator of the company's growth and future success will be moving its subscription recurrent orders from 5% of the business to north of 60% of the total business.
—Olivia Evans, The Courier-Journal, 24 Oct. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near recurrent
Cite this Entry
“Recurrent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recurrent. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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recurrent
adjective
Medical Definition
recurrent
adjective
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