occasional

adjective

oc·​ca·​sion·​al ə-ˈkā-zh(ə-)nəl 

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

Synonyms of occasional

• sporadic
• intermittent
• sudden

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

The result was a tapestry of bizarro folk elegies whose combination of violin, slide guitar, and the occasional lovestruck lyric sounded like tuning into AM radio in the midst of the apocalypse. — Henry Ivry, Pitchfork, 30 Oct. 2026

The music school Toki Rapa Nui, co-founded by classical pianist Mahani Teave, offers occasional concerts and guided visits of its sustainable Earthship building, which is shaped like an eight-petal flower. — Mark Johanson, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Oct. 2026

In the old cloud era, most workloads were handled in memory, while storage was mostly for occasional long-term reference. — Xin Guo, Forbes.com, 30 Oct. 2026

Keep an eye out for native birds, alligators, otters and the occasional black bear. — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English occasyonal "occurring at intervals," borrowed from Medieval Latin occāsiōnālis "opportune, incidental," from occāsiōn-, occāsiō occasion entry 1 + Latin -ālis -al entry 1

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for occasional

• equational

Kids Definition

occasional

adjective

oc·​ca·​sion·​al ə-ˈkāzh-nəl 

-ən-ᵊl

1

: of, relating to, or created for a particular occasion

occasional verse

2

: happening, appearing, or met with now and then

an occasional visitor