occasionally

Everyday

Occasionally means sometimes, but not often or regularly. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life, «we occasionally have pizza» means now and then. In maths and data lessons, occasionally sits on a scale of frequency: never, rarely, occasionally, sometimes, often, usually, always. In stories it shows something unusual. Common phrases: «only occasionally», «very occasionally», «occasionally visit».

Examples

• We occasionally go to the cinema on Saturdays. tree →
• It occasionally snows in London. tree →
• I occasionally forget my PE kit. tree →
• The volcano still erupts occasionally. tree →
• Grandad visits us occasionally from Scotland. tree →
• Only very occasionally does the teacher shout. tree →
• Bears occasionally come into the campsite, so lock the bins. tree →
• The bear permitted them to amuse themselves in this way, only occasionally calling out, when it went a little too far, "Children, spare me an inch of life." tree →

Note

Spelling trap: two c's and one s — o-c-c-a-s-i-o-n-a-l-l-y, with double l. From «occasion» + «-al» + «-ly». It is less often than «often» but more than «rarely».