occasion

[ uh-key-zhuhn ]

/ əˈkeɪ ʒən /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR occasion ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a particular time, especially as marked by certain circumstances or occurrences: They met on three occasions.

a special or important time, event, ceremony, celebration, etc.: His birthday will be quite an occasion.

a convenient or favorable time, opportunity, or juncture: This slack period would be a good occasion to take inventory.

the immediate or incidental cause or reason for some action or result: What is the occasion for this uproar?

(in the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead) the coincidence of the eternal objects forming a specific point-event.

occasions, Obsolete.

needs or necessities.
necessary business matters: to go about one's lawful occasions.

verb (used with object)

to give occasion or cause for; bring about.

Idioms for occasion

on occasion, now and then; from time to time; occasionally: She visits New York on occasion.

Origin of occasion

1350–1400; Middle English occasioun < Old French occasion < Latin occāsiōn- (stem of occāsiō), equivalent to oc- oc- + cās(us) (past participle of cadere to fall, befall) + -iōn- -ion

SYNONYMS FOR occasion

3 chance, opening.

4 motive, inducement, influence.

7 motivate, originate, produce, create.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR occasion ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for occasion

4. See cause.

OTHER WORDS FROM occasion

pre·oc·ca·sioned, adjective

Words nearby occasion

ocarina, occ., occam, occam's razor, occas., occasion, occasional, occasional licence, occasional table, occasionalism, occasionally

Example sentences from the Web for occasions

They thought they spotted him on at least two occasions, but he was too far away for them to grab him.

Killer Eric Frein Held in Murdered Cop’s Cuffs |Michael Daly |October 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
On some occasions as many as 60 airplanes were involved, a massive display of power backed up by as many as 500 ground personnel.

The Secret NATO-Turkey War Game for ISIS |Clive Irving |October 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
ISIS and al Qaeda bitterly split earlier this year, and have since attacked one another on occasions.

Al Qaeda Plotters in Syria ‘Went Dark,’ U.S. Spies Say |Eli Lake |September 24, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
He can seem on occasion morose, on other occasions petulant, and never comfortable in interviews.

Imagining Prince Charles as King Makes All of Britain Wish They Could Leave Like Scotland |Clive Irving |September 17, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

He is tensely and formally dressed on all occasions, with an encyclopedic memory of beer labels.

Meet the Beer Bottle Dictator |Tim Mak |August 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
On other occasions when he wanted them to keep their distance, he found mere growling to have the desired effect.

"Over There" with the Australians |R. Hugh Knyvett
First he built a small law office and a couple of bedrooms for use on these occasions.

A Round Dozen |Susan Coolidge
On other occasions pictures, described with minute attention to details, were presented to the audience in Tableaux-328- Vivants.

Renaissance in Italy: Italian Literature |John Addington Symonds
On these occasions the house-dogs are very tyrannical, and the least of them will attack and pursue the stranger.

Anecdotes of Dogs |Edward Jesse
The duke was present on all occasions, it being a special pleasure to him to witness the sufferings of heretics.

The Hansa Towns |Helen Zimmern

British Dictionary definitions for occasions (1 of 2)

occasions

/ (əˈkeɪʒənz) /

pl n archaic

(sometimes singular) needs; necessities

personal or business affairs

British Dictionary definitions for occasions (2 of 2)

occasion

/ (əˈkeɪʒən) /

noun

(sometimes foll by of) the time of a particular happening or event

(sometimes foll by for) a reason or cause (to do or be something); grounds there was no occasion to complain

an opportunity (to do something); chance

a special event, time, or celebration the party was quite an occasion

on occasion every so often

rise to the occasion to have the courage, wit, etc, to meet the special demands of a situation

take occasion to avail oneself of an opportunity (to do something)

verb

(tr) to bring about, esp incidentally or by chance

Word Origin for occasion

C14: from Latin occāsiō a falling down, from occidere, from ob- down + cadere to fall

Idioms and Phrases with occasions

occasion

see on occasion; rise to the occasion.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

occasion

noun

verb (used with object)

Idioms for occasion

Origin of occasion

SYNONYMS FOR occasion

synonym study for occasion

OTHER WORDS FROM occasion

Words nearby occasion

Example sentences from the Web for occasions

British Dictionary definitions for occasions (1 of 2)

pl n archaic

British Dictionary definitions for occasions (2 of 2)

noun

verb

Word Origin for occasion

Idioms and Phrases with occasions

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

occasion

noun

verb (used with object)

Idioms for occasion

Origin of occasion

SYNONYMS FOR occasion

synonym study for occasion

OTHER WORDS FROM occasion

Words nearby occasion

Words related to occasions

Example sentences from the Web for occasions

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for occasions (1 of 2)

pl n archaic

British Dictionary definitions for occasions (2 of 2)

noun

verb

Word Origin for occasion

Idioms and Phrases with occasions

British Dictionary definitions for occasions (1 of 2)