occasional
/əˈkeɪʒ(ə)nəl/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.12 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Occurring or appearing irregularly from time to time, but not often; incidental.
adj
Acting in the indicated role from time to time.
noun
A person who does something only occasionally.
Example Sentences
- "He was mostly solitary, but enjoyed the occasional visitor."
- "He took an occasional glass of wine."
- "The highway to the East Coast which ran through the borough of Ebbfield had always been a main road and even now, despite the vast garages, the pylons and the gaily painted factory glasshouses which had sprung up beside it, there still remained an occasional trace of past cultures."
- "But the truth is that plenty of artists from other countries make work that's bold, naughty or nasty, without getting more than a very occasional headline."
- "Elgar's music was not created to be occasional music for high-school graduations."
- "What your living room needs are some occasional chairs."
Etymology
From Middle English occasyonal, from Medieval Latin occāsiōnālis and Old French ocasionel. By surface analysis, occasion + -al.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: occasyonal, occāsiōnālis, ocasionel