Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Occurring, encountered, done, or taken from time to time; irregular or infrequent. synonym: periodic.
- adjective Created for a special occasion.
- adjective Intended for use as the occasion requires.
- adjective Being a factor that makes something possible; being a cause of something.
- adjective Acting in a specified capacity from time to time.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Of occasion; incidental; hence, occurring from time to time, but without regularity or system; made, happening, or recurring as opportunity requires or admits: as, an occasional smile; an occasional fit of coughing.
- Called forth, produced, or used on some special occasion or event; suited for a particular occasion: as, an occasional discourse.
- That serves as or constitutes the occasion or indirect cause; causal.
- noun A production caused by or adapted to some special occurrence, or the circumstances of the moment; an extemporaneous composition.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Occuring at times, but not constant, regular, or systematic; made or happening as opportunity requires or admits; casual; incidental.
- adjective obsolete Produced by accident.
- adjective Of or pertaining to an occasion or to occasions; intended for a specific occasion; for use only when needed, and not regularly.
- adjective (Metaph.) some circumstance preceding an effect which, without being the real cause, becomes the occasion of the action of the efficient cause.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Occurring or appearing irregularly from time to time.
- adjective Not very
often . - adjective Created for a specific occasion.
- adjective Intended for use as the occasion requires.
- adjective Acting in the indicated role from time to time.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective occurring or appearing at usually irregular intervals
- adjective occurring from time to time
- adjective recurring or reappearing from time to time
- adjective occurring from time to time
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word occasional.
Examples
-
Obviously there's a market for the occasional brick, but that's definitely *occasional*, and probably not a lot of people are going to get their bricks published as their *first* books.
-
Henrik Jansson reviews Swedish author Pia Hintze's new novel Älskling in Hbl, and although he has some reservations about what he calls the occasional "chattiness" of the style, he points to Hintze's ability to uncover and portray the reality of relationships and new parenthood in a way that's unusual, as it tears away the layers of social convention and secrecy that still surround many of the issues involved.
Archive 2009-07-01 David McDuff 2009
-
Sweetie (that's what you call your occasional traveling companion when you know you're stepping outside his comfort zone) - the landlord for that rental next week?
-
As the English word "occasional" often implies no more than
The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 02 Masterpieces of German Literature Translated into English. in Twenty Volumes Kuno Francke 1892
-
Maybe that's why She puts in occasional appearances here on earth.
Recycling 2009
-
Maybe that's why She puts in occasional appearances here on earth.
Recycling 2009
-
Maybe that's why She puts in occasional appearances here on earth.
Recycling 2009
-
Maybe that's why She puts in occasional appearances here on earth.
Recycling 2009
-
Maybe that's why She puts in occasional appearances here on earth.
Recycling 2009
-
Maybe that's why She puts in occasional appearances here on earth.
Recycling 2009
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.