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.
Examples of recurrent in a Sentence
Matthew Wosnitzer, Verywell Health, 28 Feb. 2025
Unsurprisingly, the treatment for recurrent BV or recurrent yeast tends to involve extending the usual care—that is, doing a lengthier course of antibiotics for BV or antifungals for yeast as determined by your doctor, for up to six months.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 27 Feb. 2025
Fiscal consolidation Hong Kong aims to cut public recurrent expenditure by 7% from now till 2027/28 to tackle its rising deficit.
—Amala Balakrishner, CNBC, 26 Feb. 2025
Many of the selections underscore the social stresses and inequalities of the growing metropolis, the scars left by the harsh military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1976 to 1983, and the human costs of Argentina’s recurrent economic crises.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for recurrent
Cite this Entry
“Recurrent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recurrent. Accessed 16 Mar. 2025.
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recurrent
adjective
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recurrent
adjective
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