The Difference Between “Recurring” and “Reoccurring”

The difference between something that’s recurring and something that reoccurs is slight, but a difference nevertheless. Recurring events are events which happen over and over again, maybe even in regular intervals. An event which is reoccurring is simply happening again.

Recurring and reoccurring can look like two peas in a pod, as long as you look at them from a far enough distance. They would be spelled exactly the same if it weren’t for an “o” and an extra “c” in reoccurring. They would also be pronounced the same if it weren’t for that “o” again. They do share a common root word, and they are very close to sharing a common meaning. In fact, you can find plenty of sources saying that the two words are synonyms, which only adds to the confusion. Let’s see if we can sort it out.

The Verbs Behind the Confusion

To look for the difference between recurring and reoccurring, we need to start with the base forms—recur and reoccur.

Recur is a verb we use when we want to say that something happens repeatedly or after an interval. The verb has its roots in the Middle English recurren, which means “to return,” and it originated from the Latin recurrere, “to run back.” Here’s how it looks when used in a sentence:

Complaints of aggressive gulls recur in coastal communities every summer with the birds’ behaviour blamed on defending and feeding their fledgling chicks.
—The Daily Mail

Reoccur is a verb that is derived by adding the prefix re- to the verb occur. The prefix re- means “again” or “back,” depending on the context, and the verb occur means “to happen.” So, reoccur simply means “to happen again.” In a sentence, it would be used like this:

We must be particularly vigilant, given that the public image of our country is still associated with certain events from the distant past, although that is not to say these events could not reoccur.
—The Huffington Post

The difference between the two verbs is very slight—an event that reoccurs is an event that happens again, while an event that recurs is an event that happens again repeatedly.

Inflected Forms and Common Usage

Adding -ing to the verbs recur and reoccur, you get the gerunds or the present participles—the recurring and reoccuring that started this discussion:

The report cited four general areas of climate-related security risks, including persistently reoccurring conditions such as flooding, drought, and higher temperatures.
—National Observer

And that’s not just on mobile—in the desktop software world, companies including Microsoft and Adobe have increasingly moved to subscription models where revenue is recurring rather than a one-time purchase.
—Mashable

After just a short Internet search for the term, it’s apparent that recurring is the more common of the two words. It’s the same with the noun forms recurrence and reoccurrence:

Slightly more than 10% of all patients who undergo successful surgery for prostate cancer have an elevated risk of tumor recurrence afterwards—especially as metastases.
—Science Daily

A spokeswoman said: “We take the safety of our installations and the people on board very seriously and are working closely with the HSE to learn from the incident and to implement the changes required to prevent reoccurrence.”
—BBC

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from Grammarly Blog
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