Meaning & use
occasionally
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Meaning
adverbnot comparable
Now and then, not often and not on a fixed schedule.
Grammar: Usually goes before the main verb or at the start or end of a sentence: I occasionally eat out.
Patterns
- occasionally + verb
- Occasionally, + clause
I occasionally walk to work when the weather is nice.
Occasionally, the bus arrives early.
She calls her old friends occasionally.
Common combinations
- only occasionally
- He only occasionally checks his email.
- occasionally visit
- We occasionally visit the coast in spring.
- occasionally forget
- I occasionally forget my password.
- occasionally hear
- You occasionally hear owls here at night.
- very occasionally
- Very occasionally, a rare bird lands on the pond.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sometimes
- Sometimes is more common and slightly more frequent in feel, while occasionally suggests rarer events.
- periodically
- Periodically implies repetition at fairly regular times, but occasionally has no regular pattern.
- now and then
- Now and then is a casual phrase that means about the same but sounds more informal.
- seldom
- Seldom means rarely and sounds more negative than occasionally.
Opposites
Word family
- occasion noun
- a particular time or event
- occasional adjective
- happening now and then
- occasion verb
- to cause something, in formal use
Commonly confused: occasionally or occasional? occasionally or ocasionally?
occasionally vs occasional
Occasional is the adjective used before nouns: an occasional visit. Occasionally is the adverb used with verbs.
occasionally vs ocasionally
Many people drop one c or one s when spelling it. Remember two c's and one s: occasionally.
Practice
She does not go to the gym every week, but she goes ___.
Choose one answer.
Occasionally means now and then. Constantly, regularly and always suggest much more frequent or fixed attendance.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “occasionally”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.