occasion

noun

oc·ca·sion | \ ə-ˈkā-zhən

Definition of occasion

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a favorable opportunity or circumstance did not have occasion to talk with them

2a : a state of affairs that provides a ground or reason The occasion of the discord was their mutual intolerance.

b : an occurrence or condition that brings something about especially : the immediate inciting circumstance as distinguished from the fundamental cause His insulting remark was the occasion of a bitter quarrel.

3a : happening, incident Everybody has been terribly kind since my recent sad occasion.— Thomas Kelly

b : a time at which something happens : instance on the occasion of his daughter's wedding

4a : a need arising from a particular circumstance knowledge for which he will never have any occasion— C. H. Grandgent

b archaic : a personal want or need —usually used in plural

5 occasions plural : affairs, business minded his own occasions and was content for other folk to mind theirs— S. H. Adams

6 : a special event or ceremony : celebration birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions

on occasion

: from time to time He lives in the country, though he visits the city on occasion.

occasion

verb

oc·ca·sion | \ ə-ˈkā-zhən

occasioned; occasioning\ ə-ˈkāzh-niŋ

, -ˈkā-zhə- \

Definition of occasion (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: bring about, cause

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about occasion

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Examples of occasion in a Sentence

Noun

When versatility is fashion's best justification, the idea of a beautiful lace blouse or dress that can step up to a special occasion and then look just as good under a man-tailored jacket or a fine-gauge long-line cardigan the next day is persuasive. — S. Mower, Vogue, September 2008 On several occasions, people have observed dark, kilometer-wide bands on the ocean surface as tsunamis approached or passed by … — S. Perkins, Science News, 21 Feb. 2004 Not so long ago, Rolling Stone's David Fricke asked the late Kurt Cobain whom he admired among "established" rock bands. Cobain unhesitatingly named R.E.M., using the occasion to send the band members a virtual mash note for remaining true to their muse and to themselves and for refusing to be swayed by the shifting winds of fashion and commerciality. — Robert Palmer, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 1994 To publish a definitive collection of short stories in one's late 60s seems to me, as an American writer, a traditional and a dignified occasion, eclipsed in no way by the fact that a great many of the stories in my current collection were written in my underwear. — John Cheever, in Ann Charters, The Story and Its Writer, 1987 birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions They marked the occasion with their families. She wrote a song especially for the occasion. Roses are the perfect flower for any occasion. On the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary, they took a vacation to Paris. We had occasion to watch her perform last summer. The boys never had occasion to meet each other. She never found an occasion to suggest her ideas. He took the occasion to make an announcement.

Verb

It was that desire that occasioned a trip to Berlin this spring: a desire to wander through the city's arty demimonde and to eat beside its residents … — Sam Sifton, New York Times, 22 June 2008 "I made bow ties," Sally says very assuredly, after the long silence occasioned by my unwanted kiss, during which we both realized we are not about to head upstairs for any fun. — Richard Ford, Independence Day, 1996 the announcement concerning the change in scheduling occasioned much confusion

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Coltin had no idea what was scheduled for him Tuesday afternoon but with the help of his mom, he was dressed for the occasion in his own police uniform. — Emily Cutts, Twin Cities, "Rochester police add courageous 8-year-old boy to force," 9 Aug. 2019 Consider dressing for the occasion: There will be a prize for best costume. — Brian Manzullo, Detroit Free Press, "PokéBar — a Pokémon-themed pop-up bar — coming to Detroit in 2020," 9 Aug. 2019 George playfully donned a captain’s hat for the occasion. — Elise Taylor, Vogue, "See Adorable New Photographs of Prince George and Princess Charlotte Enjoying a Very British Boat Race," 8 Aug. 2019 Willock played six times for the Under-19s between 2017 and 2018, sharing the pitch on many occasions with the likes of Mason Mount, Eddie Nketiah and Marcus McGuane. — SI.com, "Joe Willock: 5 Things to Know About the Arsenal Rising Star Interesting Bayern Munich," 7 Aug. 2019 According to The New York Times, Epstein reportedly posed as a VS model scout on many occasions used the fake title to lure a woman to his hotel room and assault her. — Kaitlyn Frey, PEOPLE.com, "Model Alliance Calls on Victoria's Secret to Protect Against Sexual Harassment in New Petition," 7 Aug. 2019 More Stories Barak Goodman’s PBS documentary joins a catalog of works immortalizing the Boomers’ signature bacchanal—a catalog that is growing yet again for the occasion of Woodstock’s 50th anniversary. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Why Woodstock Can Never Happen Again," 6 Aug. 2019 On many occasions, medical societies have turned entirely inward, pursuing business as an end in itself. — Eric Topol, The New Yorker, "Why Doctors Should Organize," 5 Aug. 2019 There are three things that are certain in life: death, taxes and Rihanna’s ability to turn out a ravishing look for any occasion. — Cady Lang, Time, "Rihanna Blessed Us With an Extravagant Bubblegum Pink Crop Over Costume and We'd Expect Nothing Less," 5 Aug. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The fifth shot always occasioned the strangest of the reactions. — Arna Bontemps Hemenway, The Atlantic, "Wolves of Karelia," 19 July 2019 But so great was America’s productive capacity that the great storm occasioned little more than a ripple in the development of our build-up. — David Von Drehle, The Denver Post, "Guest Commentary: United States lifted the world without losing ground," 5 June 2019 Outsiders to Rightworld, and even some insiders, were mystified by the explosion of conservative commentary occasioned by New York Post op-ed editor Sohrab Ahmari’s attack on our colleague David French. — Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review, "The Right Liberalism," 11 July 2019 Pride has long occasioned debates about the extent to which queers should be celebrating or still rioting, and has exposed the divide between those in the community with more privilege and those with less. — Gabriel Arana, The New Republic, "Fifty Years After Stonewall, Many States Still Lack LGBTQ Protections," 26 June 2019 The album grew out of two years Mandell spent teaching songwriting in Los Angeles-area women’s prisons; its songs resonate with those experiences and the reflections occasioned by them. — BostonGlobe.com, "The Ticket: What’s happening in the local arts world," 21 June 2019 Has the uptick in these invitations been occasioned by some great elevation of my public profile or some meteoric increase in my expertise? — Lionel Shriver, Harper's magazine, "Fifty-Fifty Follies," 10 June 2019 But the war has also occasioned one of the most intense disinformation campaigns. — Muhammad Idrees Ahmad, The New York Review of Books, "Bellingcat and How Open Source Reinvented Investigative Journalism," 10 June 2019 Kavanaugh’s nomination occasioned a multimillion-dollar battle by dark-money groups, and ActBlue has allowed regular people to enter that fray. — Eric Lach, The New Yorker, "Why Famous, Powerful Presidential Candidates Are Begging You for Five Dollars," 10 June 2019

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

History and Etymology for occasion

Noun

Middle English occasioun "opportunity, inducement, grounds or justification, occurrence," borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French occasion, borrowed from Medieval Latin occāsiōn-, occāsiō "opportunity, circumstance, cause, pretext," going back to Latin, "convenient circumstances, opportunity," from oc-cad-, base of occidere "to be struck down, die, sink below the horizon" + -tiōn- -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at occident

Note: Though Latin occāsiō is formally a derivative of occidere, it does not reflect the meaning of that verb; for the sense cf. other derivatives of cadere "to fall," as accidere "to happen" (see accident) and cāsus "occurrence, chance" (see case entry 1). The verbal noun corresponding semantically to occidere is occāsus "sinking (of the sun), downfall, decline."