occasional
- 01 B1 Intermediate
adj.happening from time to time, but not regularly or very often.
adj.occurring or appearing at irregular intervals; not frequent or constant.
Simple“We still have the occasional argument, but generally we get along very well.”
In context“Despite the overall improvement in the economy, the region still suffers from occasional power outages during the peak of summer.”
- 02 C1 Advanced
adj.made or used for a special event or a particular reason.
adj.created or intended for a specific occasion or particular purpose.
Simple“The poet wrote an occasional poem to celebrate the king's birthday.”
In context“The composer was commissioned to produce an occasional piece for the opening of the new national theatre.”
Synonyms - 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.doing a job or a hobby only once in a while.
adj.acting in a specific role or capacity only from time to time.
Simple“He is an occasional painter who only picks up a brush when he is on holiday.”
In context“As an occasional contributor to the Sunday papers, she maintained her profile in the literary world without the pressure of a weekly column.”
Synonymspart timeintermittentAntonymsprofessionalfull time - 04 C2 Proficiency
n.a person who does something only once in a while.
n.a person who engages in an activity or attends an event only occasionally.
Simple“The pub was quiet, filled only with a few regulars and the odd occasional.”
In context“The church congregation consisted of a small core of devoted members and a larger group of occasionals who attended only on major holidays.”
“Hotels were used as an occasional, temporary housing fix for asylum seekers pre-Covid, but became the default option in place of flats at the very start of the pandemic.”
“Flowers has always had occasional bouts of foot-in-mouth – this simply feels like a particularly bad one.”
From Middle English occasyonal, from Medieval Latin occāsiōnālis and Old French ocasionel. By surface analysis, occasion + -al.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.