oftentimes

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UK/ˈɒf.ənˌtaɪmz/UK/ˈɒf.tənˌtaɪmz/US/ˈɔf.ənˌtaɪmz/US/ˈɔf.tənˌtaɪmz/

adverb

Frequently; often.

Less commonScrabble 15

Meanings

adverboftentimes (not comparable)
  1. USnot comparableelsewhere archaicFrequently; often.

    Pique and linen also accented several coats and oftentimes were both detachable and formed an overcollar covering a collar made from the coat fabric.

    1967, Ann Helen Stroup, An Investigation of the Dress of American Children from 1930 Through 1941 with Emphasis on Factors Influencing Change, page 195
    2 more examples

    But because this is oftentimes dangerous, and much hurt hath been received thereby through casualty of fire, I advise the sticking four stakes into the earth, at least five feet above the ground […]

    1804, Robert Wissett, On the Cultivation and Preparation of Hemp

    Over the past decade, the very nature of organized crime has changed, with many groups diversifying their income beyond drug trafficking, and large cartels splintering into smaller, oftentimes more nimble groups.

    2023 January 10, Whitney Eulich, America Armenta, “Mexico arrests son of ‘El Chapo’: Why don’t citizens feel safer?”, in The Christian Science Monitor

    Synonyms: oftentime, ofttimes, oftwhiles, often

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbFrequently; often.

More synonyms by meaning

adverbmany times at short intervals

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishoftentymes
  2. Englishoftentimes

Inherited from Middle English oftentymes. By surface analysis, oftentime + -s. Compare oftentime. Compare also German oftmals, Middle French souventesfois.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic كَثِيرَ المَرَاتِ
  • كَثِيرَ المَرَاتِ (kaṯīra l-marāti)frequently
Basque maiz
  • maizfrequently
Czech častokrát, mnohdy
  • častokrátfrequently
  • mnohdyrepeatedly
French souventesfois, souventefois
  • souventesfoisfrequently
  • souventefoisfrequently
  • souventfrequently
German oftmals, oft
  • oftmalsfrequently
  • oftfrequently
Italian frequentemente, ripetutamente
  • frequentementefrequently
  • ripetutamenterepeatedly
Norwegian ofte
  • oftefrequently
Norwegian Bokmål om og om igjen
  • om og om igjenrepeatedly
Romanian frecvent, deseori
  • frecventfrequently
  • deseorifrequently
  • repetatrepeatedly
Russian ча́сто, многокра́тно
  • ча́сто (částo)frequently
  • многокра́тно (mnogokrátno)repeatedly
Spanish frecuentemente, reiteradamente
  • frecuentementefrequently
  • reiteradamenterepeatedly
  • repetidamenterepeatedly
Swedish ofta, om och om igen
  • oftafrequently
  • om och om igenrepeatedly
Cite this entry
APA

oftentimes. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oftentimes

MLA

“oftentimes.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oftentimes. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oftentimes,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oftentimes.

Source: oftentimes on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.