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adjective oc·ca·sion·al \ ə-ˈkāzh-nəl , -ˈkā-zhə-nᵊl \

Popularity: Bottom 40% of words | Updated on: 2 Sep 2018

Examples: occasional in a Sentence

Definition of occasional

1 a : of or relating to a particular occasion

a budget able to meet occasional demands as well as regular ones

b : created for a particular occasion

occasional verse

occasional music

2 : acting as the occasion or contributing cause of something

occasional causes for creating apparent effects

3 : encountered, occurring, appearing, or taken at irregular or infrequent intervals

occasional visitors

an occasional vacation

found occasional errors

occasional episodes of chest pain

4 : acting in a specified capacity from time to time

an occasional lecturer

an occasional essayist

5 : designed or constructed to be used as the occasion demands

occasional furniture

See occasional defined for English-language learners

See occasional defined for kids

Examples of occasional in a Sentence

She receives occasional phone calls from her mother.
There will be occasional showers during the morning.
Most mornings, we'll see deer or the occasional bear walking past our house.
He tells an occasional joke to keep his students interested.
I need to take occasional breaks from work.
Sure, I drink an occasional glass of wine from time to time.
She's an occasional lecturer at the university.

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Recent Examples of occasional from the Web

State security assigned guards around-the-clock outside Liu's Beijing home and restricted her access to the internet and the outside world, allowing her only occasional phone calls with a small circle of friends.

— NBC News, "Liu Xia, widow of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, leaves China," 10 July 2018
Authorities had assigned guards around-the-clock outside Liu's Beijing home and restricted her access to Internet and the outside world, allowing her only occasional phone calls with a small circle of friends.

— Fox News, "Nobel widow Liu Xia leaves China after 8 years' house arrest," 10 July 2018
Their only contact was through occasional phone calls from the little girl.

— Printed with Loop Femme One Palazzo Women's Belt anna-catherine brigida Women Waist High Slim Buttun Blue Ice Fit For Cotton Jeans qzwf5w, Washington Post, "Salvadoran deportee finally reunited with his separated daughter," 29 June 2018
Finally, occasional calls from patients in pain after surgery made him study ways to improve his craft.

— dave hyde, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Hyde: A good step in the opioid crisis | Commentary," 7 June 2018
Among those who marched through the city's financial center before the protest grew violent was 56-year-old Juan de Dios del Valle, a government worker who was laid off in 2008 and has since found only occasional jobs as a gardener or janitor.

— danica coto, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Protest in Puerto Rico turns violent as thousands march against austerity measures," 1 May 2018
There was no quit, however, in the young mother of 16-month-old Mackenzie Cook, who had been mom’s occasional training partner in the preceding months, pushed in her stroller on many a run.

— rick armstrong, Aurora Beacon-News, "Armstrong: Brutal Boston Marathon conditions slow but can't stop Oswego East coach Lisa Cook," 21 Apr. 2018
In addition to Stritch, who was also her occasional duet partner, Maye’s backup trio included two top Bay Area musicians: bass player John Wiitala, and drummer David Rokeach.

— david wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle, "Maye high-kicks her way to standing O at Feinstein’s," 24 Mar. 2018
Mbappe plays up front so his interjections are by nature more occasional, yet also more instantly destructive.

— martin rogers, USA TODAY, "After World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi may lose best player tags," 13 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'occasional.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of occasional

1611

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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occasional Synonyms

OCCASIONAL Defined for English Language Learners

occasional

adjective

Definition of occasional for English Language Learners

: happening or done sometimes but not often : not happening or done in a regular or frequent way
: sometimes doing a particular job or activity

OCCASIONAL Defined for Kids

occasional

adjective oc·ca·sion·al \ ə-ˈkā-zhə-nᵊl \

Definition of occasional for Students

: happening or met with now and then

They went to an occasional movie.

—

occasionally

adverb

Learn More about occasional

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Loop Belt Printed Femme Women's Palazzo One with 0wqxa7CHp

Definition of occasional

Examples of occasional in a Sentence

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OCCASIONAL Defined for English Language Learners

occasional

Definition of occasional for English Language Learners

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occasionally

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