vereinzelnd
Translation
isolated, sporadic, scattered, occasional
Examples
Es gab nur vereinzelnd Proteste.
There were only isolated protests.
Vereinzelnd fielen Regentropfen vom Himmel.
Sporadic raindrops fell from the sky.
Grammar Patterns
((as an adjective)) isolated/sporadic ~ isolated protests
((as an adverb)) sporadically It only rained sporadically.
Similar Words
Synonyms: sporadic, scattered, occasional; Antonyms: frequent, continuous
Etymology
Present participle of the verb 'vereinzeln' (to isolate), which comes from 'ver-' + 'einzeln' (single, individual). It implies 'making single'.
Memory Tips
Picture a group of items, and the prefix 'ver-' acts to make them 'einzeln' (single), thus scattering them apart.