Adjacent Words

Occasion definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

OCCA'SION, n. s as z. [L. occasio, from oceido, to fall; ob and cado.]
1. Properly, a falling, happening or coming to; an occurrence, casualty, incident; something distinct from the ordinary course or regular orders of things.
2. Opportunity; convenience; favorable time, season or circumstances.
I'll take th' occasion which he give to bring him to his death.
Use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh. Galatians 5.
Sin taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me.
Romans 7.
3. Accidental cause; incident, event or fact giving rise to something else. What was the occasion of this custom?
Her beauty was the occasion of the war.
4. Incidental need; casual exigency; opportunity accompanied with need or demand. So we say, we have occasion for all our resources. We have frequent occasions for assisting each other.
The ancient canons were well fitted for the occasion of the church in its purer ages.
My occasions have found time to use them toward a supply of money.
OCCA'SION, v.t.
1. To cause incidentally; to cause; to produce. The expectation of war occasions a depression in the price of stocks. Consumptions are often occasioned by colds. Indigestion occasions pain in the head. Heat occasions lassitude.
2. To influence; to cause.
If we inquire what it is that occasions men to make several combinations of simple ideas into distinct modes -

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an event that occurs at a critical time; "at such junctures he always had an impulse to leave"; "it was needed only on special occasions" [syn: juncture, occasion]
2: a vaguely specified social event; "the party was quite an affair"; "an occasion arranged to honor the president"; "a seemingly endless round of social functions" [syn: affair, occasion, social occasion, function, social function]
3: reason; "there was no occasion for complaint"
4: the time of a particular event; "on the occasion of his 60th birthday"
5: an opportunity to do something; "there was never an occasion for her to demonstrate her skill" v
1: give occasion to

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin occasion-, occasio, from occidere to fall, fall down, from ob- toward + cadere to fall — more at ob-, chance Date: 14th century 1. a favorable opportunity or circumstance <did not have occasion to talk with them> 2. a. a state of affairs that provides a ground or reason <the occasion of the discord was their mutual intolerance> b. an occurrence or condition that brings something about; especially the immediate inciting circumstance as distinguished from the fundamental cause <his insulting remark was the occasion of a bitter quarrel> 3. a. happening, incident b. a time at which something happens ; instance 4. a. a need arising from a particular circumstance b. archaic a personal want or need — usually used in plural 5. plural affairs, business 6. a special event or ceremony ; celebration II. transitive verb (-sioned; occasioning) Date: 15th century bring about, cause

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a a special or noteworthy event or happening (dressed for the occasion). b the time or occurrence of this (on the occasion of their marriage). 2 (often foll. by for, or to + infin.) a reason, ground, or justification (there is no occasion to be angry). 3 a juncture suitable for doing something; an opportunity. 4 an immediate but subordinate or incidental cause (the assassination was the occasion of the war). --v.tr. 1 be the occasion or cause of; bring about esp. incidentally. 2 (foll. by to + infin.) cause (a person or thing to do something). Phrases and idioms: on occasion now and then; when the need arises. rise to the occasion produce the necessary will, energy, ability, etc., in unusually demanding circumstances. take occasion (foll. by to + infin.) make use of the opportunity. Etymology: ME f. OF occasion or L occasio juncture, reason, f. occidere occas- go down (as OB-, cadere fall)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Occasion Oc*ca"sion ([o^]k*k[=a]"zh[u^]n), n. [F. occasion, L. occasio, fr. occidere, occasum, to fall down; ob (see Ob-) + cadere to fall. See Chance, and cf. Occident.] 1. A falling out, happening, or coming to pass; hence, that which falls out or happens; occurrence; incident. The unlooked-for incidents of family history, and its hidden excitements, and its arduous occasions. --I. Taylor. 2. A favorable opportunity; a convenient or timely chance; convenience. Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me. --Rom. vii. 11. I'll take the occasion which he gives to bring Him to his death. --Waller. 3. An occurrence or condition of affairs which brings with it some unlooked-for event; that which incidentally brings to pass an event, without being its efficient cause or sufficient reason; accidental or incidental cause. Her beauty was the occasion of the war. --Dryden. 4. Need; exigency; requirement; necessity; as, I have no occasion for firearms. After we have served ourselves and our own occasions. --Jer. Taylor. When my occasions took me into France. --Burke. 5. A reason or excuse; a motive; a persuasion. Whose manner was, all passengers to stay, And entertain with her occasions sly. --Spenser. On occasion, in case of need; in necessity; as convenience requires; occasionally. ``That we might have intelligence from him on occasion,'' --De Foe. Syn: Need; incident; use. See Opportunity.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Occasion Oc*ca"sion ([o^]k*k[=a]"zh[u^]n), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Occasioned (-zh[u^]nd); p. pr. & vb. n. Occasioning.] [Cf.F. occasionner.] To give occasion to; to cause; to produce; to induce; as, to occasion anxiety. --South. If we inquire what it is that occasions men to make several combinations of simple ideas into distinct modes. --Locke.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(occasions) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. An occasion is a time when something happens, or a case of it happening. I often think fondly of an occasion some years ago at Covent Garden... Mr Davis has been asked on a number of occasions. N-COUNT 2. An occasion is an important event, ceremony, or celebration. Taking her with me on official occasions has been a challenge... It will be a unique family occasion. N-COUNT: usu supp N 3. An occasion for doing something is an opportunity for doing it. (FORMAL) It is an occasion for all the family to celebrate... It is always an important occasion for setting out government policy. N-COUNT: N for n/-ing 4. To occasion something means to cause it. (FORMAL) He argued that the release of hostages should not occasion a change in policy. VERB: V n 5. see also sense of occasion 6. If you have occasion to do something, it is necessary for you to do it. We have had occasion to deal with members of the group on a variety of charges. PHRASE: V inflects, PHR to-inf 7. If something happens on occasion, it happens sometimes, but not very often. He translated not only from the French but also, on occasion, from the Polish. = occasionally PHRASE: N inflects, PHR with cl 8. If you say that someone rose to the occasion, you mean that they did what was necessary to successfully overcome a difficult situation. Inverness, however, rose to the occasion in the second half, producing some of the best football they have played for some time. PHRASE: V inflects

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

o-ka'-zhun: The uses in English Versions of the Bible are all modern, but in Jer 2:24 "occasion" is employed (both in Hebrew and English) as a euphemism for "time of conception of offspring."

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Occurrence, incident, casualty, event. 2. Opportunity, convenience, juncture, conjuncture, opening, suitable time, favorable time, nick of time, golden opportunity. 3. Necessity, need, exigency, requirement, want. 4. Cause (incidental), ground, reason. 5. Motive, reason, inducement, influence. 6. Circumstances, juncture, exigency. II. v. a. 1. Cause, produce, originate, breed, create, bring about, give rise to, give occasion to, bring to pass, be the cause of. 2. Induce, influence, persuade, move.

Moby Thesaurus

a leg up, advantage, adventure, affair, antecedent, antecedents, author, bare necessities, base, basis, bear, beget, break, breed, bring about, bring forth, bring on, bring to effect, bring to pass, call, call for, call forth, call up, causation, cause, cause and effect, celebration, ceremony, chance, circumstance, clear stage, commemoration, conceive, condition, conjuncture, contingency, create, demand, demand for, desideration, desideratum, determinant, determinative, do, effect, effectuate, element, elicit, engender, episode, essential, essentials, establish, etiology, event, eventuality, evoke, excuse, experience, fact, factor, fair field, fair game, father, found, foundation, function, gala, generate, gestate, give birth to, give occasion to, give origin to, give rise to, go, ground, grounds, hap, happening, happenstance, impel, impulse, inaugurate, incident, incitement, indispensable, induce, inducement, institute, juncture, justification, liberty, look-in, make, make for, matter of fact, milestone, moment, must, must item, necessaries, necessities, necessity, need, need for, obligation, observance, occasionally, occurrence, on occasion, opening, opportunism, opportunity, originate, particular, party, phenomenon, place, prerequirement, prerequisite, principle, produce, prompt, prompting, provocation, provoke, reality, realize, reason, requirement, requisite, requisition, right, room, scope, set afloat, set on foot, set up, shot, show, sire, squeak, stepping-stone, stimulus, the necessary, the needful, thing, time, turn of events, want, warrant, work, work up