oftentimes

adverb

of·​ten·​times ˈȯ-fən-ˌtīmz 

ˈȯf-tən-

: on many occasions : often

The quickness of the hand oftentimes deceives the eye.

—W. V. Quine

Seemingly untoward events oftentimes lead to successful results.

—Herman Melville

Oftentimes they were asleep, but occasionally might be heard talking together …

—Nathaniel Hawthorne

A man's ignorance sometimes is not only useful, but beautiful – while his knowledge, so called, is oftentimes worse than useless …

—Henry David Thoreau

Oftentimes cyclists mistake dehydration for hunger.

—Brian Wansink

Did you know?

Despite its archaic, literary ring, oftentimes is quite alive today. In fact, it seems to be more popular now than it was in past decades, appearing frequently both in written expression and in speech. Oftentimes was first used in the 14th century (the same century that gave us often), and its meaning hasn't changed—as meanings oftentimes will—in all that time. It was formed as an extension of its slightly older synonym ofttimes. Today ofttimes is less common, but oft (which comes from Old English and also means "often" or "frequently") is popular in combination with past participles, as in oft-praised.

Synonyms

• again and again
• constantly
• continually
• frequently
• hourly
• much
• oft
• often
• over and over
• repeatedly

Examples of oftentimes in a Sentence

Oftentimes, he is the only man in the aerobics class.

children oftentimes don't realize how quickly time passes

Recent Examples on the Web

The killer weather extremes are those that can wreak havoc in the form of famines, flooding, migration, government instability, and oftentimes death. —Ian Dexter Palmer, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025

The indirect funding from NIH oftentimes kept the lights at Hopkins on, Daniels and DeWeese said in the statement. —Shaela Foster, Baltimore Sun, 18 Mar. 2025

Entertainment Weekly can share an exclusive first look at the sports drama above, which stars Majors as the isolated and oftentimes volatile Killian Maddox. —Jessica Wang, EW.com, 29 Jan. 2025

This mode uses software smarts to determine the edges of subjects and apply an oftentimes imperfect blur—particularly around hair and eyeglasses—but Xiaomi's concept circumvents this problem thanks to its large sensor. —Simon Hill, WIRED, 3 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for oftentimes

• betimes
• enzymes
• lifetimes
• mealtimes
• ofttimes
• oximes
• pastimes
• sometimes
• sublimes
• chimes
• climbs
• climes

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Kids Definition

oftentimes

adverb

of·​ten·​times -ˌtīmz 

variants or ofttimes

ˈȯf(t)-ˌtīmz 

: often