Library / English Dictionary

OCCASION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An event that occurs at a critical time

Example:

it was needed only on special occasions

Synonyms:

juncture; occasion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("occasion" is a kind of...):

happening; natural event; occurrence; occurrent (an event that happens)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "occasion"):

climax; flood tide (the highest point of anything conceived of as growing or developing or unfolding)

conjuncture (a critical combination of events or circumstances)

crisis (a crucial stage or turning point in the course of something)

landmark; turning point; watershed (an event marking a unique or important historical change of course or one on which important developments depend)

milestone (a significant event in your life (or in a project))

head; pass; straits (a difficult juncture)

reality check (an occasion on which one is reminded of the nature of things in the real world)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A vaguely specified social event

Example:

a seemingly endless round of social functions

Synonyms:

affair; function; occasion; social function; social occasion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("occasion" is a kind of...):

social event (an event characteristic of persons forming groups)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "occasion"):

party (an occasion on which people can assemble for social interaction and entertainment)

celebration; jubilation (a joyful occasion for special festivities to mark some happy event)

ceremonial; ceremonial occasion; ceremony; observance (a formal event performed on a special occasion)

fundraiser (a social function that is held for the purpose of raising money)

photo op; photo opportunity (an occasion that lends itself to (or is deliberately arranged for) taking photographs that provide favorable publicity for those who are photographed)

sleepover (an occasion of spending a night away from home or having a guest spend the night in your home (especially as a party for children))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Reason

Example:

there was no occasion for complaint

Classified under:

Nouns denoting goals

Hypernyms ("occasion" is a kind of...):

ground; reason (a rational motive for a belief or action)

Derivation:

occasion (give occasion to)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An opportunity to do something

Example:

there was never an occasion for her to demonstrate her skill

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("occasion" is a kind of...):

chance; opportunity (a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "occasion"):

cut-rate sale; sale; sales event (an occasion (usually brief) for buying at specially reduced prices)

Derivation:

occasion (give occasion to)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The time of a particular event

Example:

on the occasion of his 60th birthday

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Hypernyms ("occasion" is a kind of...):

time (a suitable moment)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "occasion"):

meal (any of the occasions for eating food that occur by custom or habit at more or less fixed times)

Derivation:

occasion (give occasion to)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Give occasion to

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "occasion" is one way to...):

cause; do; make (give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "occasion"):

inspire (supply the inspiration for)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

occasion (reason)

occasion (an opportunity to do something)

occasion (the time of a particular event)

Credits

 Context examples: 

On many occasions, or in many situations.

(Often, NCI Thesaurus)

Continue for the present to write to me by every opportunity: I may receive your letters on some occasions when I need them most to support my spirits.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

A specific individual microbe and its genetically identical progeny separated on a single occasion from a sample taken from a host or culture system.

(Isolate, NCI Thesaurus)

Functional Activities Questionnaire-NACC Version (FAQ-NACC Version) Remembering appointments, family occasions, holidays, medications.

(FAQ-NACC Version - Remember, NCI Thesaurus)

A borderline blood vessel neoplasm that may metastasize on rare occasions.

(Intermediate (Rarely Metastasizing) Blood Vessel Neoplasm, NCI Thesaurus)

A borderline blood vessel neoplasm that can be locally aggressive, and may metastasize on rare occasions.

(Intermediate Blood Vessel Neoplasm, NCI Thesaurus)

It was the highest satisfaction to her to believe Captain Wentworth not in the least aware of the pain he was occasioning.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Nor was she above slashing his shoulder sharply on occasion.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

There is no longer any occasion for uneasiness, ma'am. Be calm.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I see no occasion for that.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)