occasional

/əˈkeɪʒənəl/

/əˈkeɪʒənəl/

When something happens from time to time on an irregular basis, we say it is an occasional occurrence. For example, you might have an occasional lunch with a friend. If your friend ever picked up the bill, maybe it would happen more often.

Occasional is a few steps removed from the Latin cadere, "to fall." So you might think of something occasional as something that happens "to fall" just whenever it happens to fall. Speaking of falling, Voltaire once wrote, "The best government is a benevolent tyranny tempered by an occasional assassination." An occasional election might do in a pinch.

Definitions of occasional

1. adjective

   occurring from time to time
   “an occasional worker”

   synonyms: casual

   irregular

   contrary to rule or accepted order or general practice
2. adjective

   occurring from time to time
   synonyms:

   infrequent

   not frequent; not occurring regularly or at short intervals
3. adjective

   occurring or appearing at usually irregular intervals
   “occasional headaches”

   synonyms: episodic

   unpredictable

   not capable of being foretold
4. adjective

   recurring or reappearing from time to time
   synonyms: periodic

   sporadic

   recurring in scattered and irregular or unpredictable instances