occasionally

The word “occasionally” means now and then; sometimes, but not often. In plain terms, sometimes, but not regularly.

“Occasionally” is pronounced uh-KAY-zhuh-nuh-lee (/əˈkeɪʒənəli/ in IPA).

Here is “occasionally” used in a sentence: “We occasionally go for a walk along the river.”

Words with a similar meaning to “occasionally” include at times, ever and anon, every once in a while, every now and then, every so often and from time to time.

The opposite of “occasionally” — its antonyms — are usually and rarely.

“Occasionally” is an adverb.

“Occasionally” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

Both mean not always, but "occasionally" sits lower on the frequency scale, suggesting now and then rather than with any regularity. A rough ordering runs: always, usually, often, sometimes, occasionally, rarely, never. "I sometimes cook" implies more frequency than "I occasionally cook."

"Occasionally" is neutral and simply means now and then, without judgment about how little that is. "Rarely" is stronger and emphasises that something almost never happens. Saying you occasionally eat out sounds ordinary; saying you rarely eat out stresses how uncommon it is.

Like most frequency adverbs, "occasionally" usually sits in mid-position, before the main verb: "I occasionally walk to work." Unlike stricter frequency adverbs such as "always," it also moves comfortably to the start or end of a sentence: "Occasionally, we go camping" or "We go camping occasionally."

The correct spelling is o-c-c-a-s-i-o-n-a-l-l-y: double c, a single s, and double l. Common misspellings include "ocasionally" (missing a c) and "occassionally" (doubling the s), so the rule of thumb is two c's, one s.