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

• 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

What begins as occasional recreational betting too often spirals into financial instability, anxiety and depression, and high-risk habits. —Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2025

Besides the occasional random spider that scuttles indoors, some spiders can live in out-of-the-way spots in your home, such as along ceilings or in basements and behind clutter. —Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 11 Oct. 2025

And yes, there were occasional hijinks spurred by youthful boredom and restlessness. —Scott Huver, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025

The Drake Passage experiences occasional moderate to strong earthquakes due to its position along the complex boundary between the Scotia Plate and the Antarctic Plate. —Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025

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