frequent
Definitions
Happening or occurring often, at short intervals.
频繁的，经常发生的。
To visit a place often or habitually.
常去，经常光顾（某地）。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedFrom Latin frequens, 'crowded.' What crowds a space evolved into what crowds time — happening again and again. As an adjective it describes events that come thick and fast; as a verb (stress on the second syllable) it means to crowd a place with your repeated visits.
Root frequent still carries 3 more wordsUsage Guide
Stress shift: the adjective is FRE-quent (frequent buses); the verb is fre-QUENT (he frequents that bar). The verb is fairly formal/literary — in casual speech people say 'he goes there a lot' rather than 'he frequents it.'
Example Sentences
- 1.
He makes frequent trips to Tokyo for his work.
- 2.
Frequent rain this month has delayed the harvest.
- 3.
She frequents a small cafe near the office every morning.
- 4.
Customers complained about the frequent system errors.
Easily Confused
frequent vs regular — frequent only means 'often, many times' (frequent errors). regular adds the idea of a fixed pattern or interval (a regular customer comes at predictable times). Frequent buses may still be irregular; regular buses run on a schedule.
Synonym Comparison
- frequent — happening often, neutral and common
- recurrent — coming back repeatedly, often of problems or symptoms
- constant — non-stop, with little or no break
- habitual — done by habit, of a person's behavior
- incessant — relentless and annoying, never stopping