periodical 1 of 2

adjective

ˌpir-ē-ˈä-di-kəl How to pronounce periodical (audio)
Definition of periodicalnext
1
as in serial
appearing in parts or numbers that follow regularly a periodical town newsletter that is supported by local advertisers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in recurrent
occurring or appearing at intervals periodical announcements from airline personnel concerning the delay

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in frequent
appearing or occurring repeatedly from time to time periodical visits to the dentist will help keep your teeth healthy

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

periodical

2 of 2

noun

as in newspaper
a publication that appears at regular intervals subscribed to three new periodicals

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of periodical
Adjective
Like any outlet covering Congress, media working for TMZ must be credentialed by the Senate and House periodical press galleries. — Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 15 Apr. 2026 Beginning in the 1890s, three successive Henry Wallaces — father, son, and grandson — held the editor’s pen at the influential periodical, Wallaces’ Farmer. — Andrew Klumpp, Des Moines Register, 22 Mar. 2026
Noun
The center’s resources—all free—include more than a million books and periodicals, with 400 terminals and 75 staff members available to help dig through them. — Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 June 2026 Galaxy, Analog, and Amazing Stories, those three periodicals – and our bathroom was piled high. — Ben Mankiewicz, CBS News, 7 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for periodical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for periodical
  1. serial
  2. recurrent
  3. frequent
  4. newspaper
  5. serialized
  6. recurring
  7. periodic
  8. journal
Adjective
  • One of them, drunk, told him that serial killer Yoo Young-chul had once set a fire and escaped after being taken into custody by police in Mapo.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The next few months of Apple TV include a serial killer thriller (Nocturne), a heist drama (12 12 12), and one of the service’s most ambitious sci-fi shows to date (Neuromancer).
    — Andrew Webster, The Verge, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of serial
Adjective
  • Security training Current TSA regulations require recurrent security training for flight crew and cabin crew members, which includes self-defense training and exercises on how to handle a hijacking.
    — Jeff Price, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The second, given by Stille, enlisted a recurrent theme in Eco’s fiction — how falsehood often trumps truth — to discuss the crisis of liberal democracy and its institutions.
    — Bartolomeo Sala, The Dial, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of recurrent
Adjective
  • Her mother learned to cook from women in Sari, a small city near the coast, when her parents lived there through most of the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq War, when bombing in Tehran was frequent.
    — Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
  • But a press officer with Ukraine’s 93rd mechanized brigade told CNN last month that is no longer an option due to frequent shelling.
    — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of frequent
Noun
  • The poll found his approval had declined by 5 points since the newspaper’s previous surveys in four of the states in June.
    — Rena Rowe, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The British newspaper are co-producers of the movie, which is directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.
    — K.J. Yossman, Variety, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of newspaper
Adjective
  • Latin America brings its own long history of serialized television drama, rooted in telenovelas that have been produced across the region since the 1950s and have traveled widely across borders.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Star Trek wasn’t heavily serialized — few shows were back then — but airing this episode first has the effect of dropping viewers into the show with little beyond William Shatner‘s opening credits narration to set the scene.
    — Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of serialized
Adjective
  • How Recurring Revenue Is The Pump There’s only one kind of funding that reliably shows up in year seven—recurring, unrestricted revenue.
    — Sarah Evans, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Excluding non-recurring events, the magnitude of the average S & P 500 earnings surprise for the quarter is still about 11%.
    — Sarah Min, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of recurring
Adjective
  • Trouble in the tropics El Niño is a periodic climate cycle that features hotter-than-normal sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
    — Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
  • There's no access to ice or cold water, and during periodic power outages, there's no electricity.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of periodic
Noun
  • The current credit ecosystem arose in the mid-19th century, as science emerged as a profession alongside the rise of the modern scientific journal.
    — Jeffrey S. Flier, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The club recently published an official Field Guide, a journal (available at events) that includes a list of sites and recording prompts, as well as space to log metadata and the stories behind the sounds.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of journal

Browse Nearby Words

periodic
periodical
periodically
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Periodical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/periodical. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of Luddite

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All