1
as in sporadic
lacking in steadiness or regularity of occurrence
the weekend forecast is for occasional showers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in odd
not often occurring or repeated
an occasional mechanical problem with our car, but nothing serious
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of occasional
Some patients heard a sequence of repetitive tones that were interrupted by occasional unexpected frequencies, while others were treated to the Moth Radio Hour podcast.
—
Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 6 May 2026
Zilis peppered her speech with unusual phrases and occasional sarcasm.
—David Ingram, NBC news, 6 May 2026
Amankora's rotating dessert list includes homemade ice cream, fruit-forward sweets, and the occasional Bhutanese riff.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 May 2026
Aside from the occasional signs of energy from Urban, the movie only really sparks to life when laser-eyed Australian mercenary Kano (Josh Lawson) is brought back for reasons even the other characters in the movie acknowledge are unwarranted.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for occasional
Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 6 May 2026
Zilis peppered her speech with unusual phrases and occasional sarcasm.
—David Ingram, NBC news, 6 May 2026
Amankora's rotating dessert list includes homemade ice cream, fruit-forward sweets, and the occasional Bhutanese riff.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 May 2026
Aside from the occasional signs of energy from Urban, the movie only really sparks to life when laser-eyed Australian mercenary Kano (Josh Lawson) is brought back for reasons even the other characters in the movie acknowledge are unwarranted.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for occasional
Recent Examples of Synonyms for occasional
Adjective
-
Flows are narcoleptic, drums are sporadic, and melodies are soft enough to live in a dollhouse.—
Olivier Lafontant,
Pitchfork,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Still, sporadic cross-border fighting had continued even while delegations from the two sides were attending the talks in Urumqi.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
With it, this is just kind of an odd, unfortunate (especially for the bird) story.—
Matt Reigle OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Business major Andrea Lui found the chatbot’s voice to be surprisingly human, but the conversation felt choppy with odd pauses.—
Jocelyn Gecker,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The deflating defeat, narrated by an intermittent cascade of boos, rendered their record the worst in baseball at 7-16 and suddenly a half-game lousier than the idle New York Mets.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
8 May 2026
-
The job market is showing intermittent signs of recovery after a bleak 2025.—
Paul Wiseman,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
Adjective
-
Earlier in the day, Charles delivered a rare address to a joint session of Congress, highlighting the second day of his four-day state visit and placing the spotlight on the strained but enduring relationship between his country and the United States.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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Given the popularity of the show, particularly the fashion, style expert George Kotsiopoulos says being able to own an item that your favorite character wore or had in their home is a rare opportunity.—
Kailyn Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
If the arteries are leading to the brain, symptoms may involve sudden numbness or weakness in the arms or legs, trouble speaking, slurred speech, sudden or temporary vision loss in one eye or facial drooping.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
6 May 2026
-
The vote of confidence from Multicoin continued what has been a sudden revival of interest in Zcash, which first launched in 2016.—
Jack Kubinec,
Fortune,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
The primary hazards will be hail, damaging winds and heavy rain that may result in isolated flash flooding, according to the National Weather Service Fort Worth.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 May 2026
-
With the rise of hybrid work and the looming pressures of AI, employees are feeling more isolated and stressed than ever.—
Julie Kratz,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2026
Adjective
-
But, in other respects, your approach to the future might have been unusual, at least by our modern lights.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
8 May 2026
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They have also been shown to exhibit play behavior with objects in their enclosures, highly unusual behavior for a reptile.—
Craig Stanford,
Big Think,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
Women aren’t infrequent visitors, as there is plenty of work as a groom or exercise rider.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
9 May 2026
-
During her mother’s infrequent visits, Eileen was to treat her with no more than polite formality.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Occasional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/occasional. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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