occasionally

/əˈkeɪʒənəli/

//əˈkeɪʒənəli// adv

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"occasionally" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“occasionally” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,710. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,710
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - On occasion: at relatively infrequent intervals, from time to time, sometimes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-occasionally · occasionally · English

occasionally · rank #3,710 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,710
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH observed

Nearest frequency peer: observed (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “occasionally”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “occasionally” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

occasionally vs occasional
83% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for occasionally
PropertyValue
Headwordoccasionally
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/əˈkeɪʒənəli/
Letters12
Frequency rank#3,710
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “occasionally”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).occasionallylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “observed” (#3,709), “one's” (#3,711), “NBA” (#3,708). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “occasionally” is #3,710. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around occasionally (IPA /əˈkeɪʒənəli/), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #3,710 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for occasionally, with forms such as "cocasionally", "ocacsionally", and "ocasionally". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "occasional", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English occasionally, occasionaly, occasyoneely, occasyonly, equivalent to occasional + -ly. The correct English form is occasionally, spelled O-C-C-A-S-I-O-N-A-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    On occasion: at relatively infrequent intervals, from time to time, sometimes.
  2. 2
    On an occasion, accidentally, by chance.
  3. 3
    On the occasion of something else happening; incidentally, by the way.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how occasionally appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. God ſetteth no houres for the morning or evening ſacrifice because they may occaſionally be changed.
  2. Some perhaps worship only on alternate Sundays; others still more occasionally.

Etymology

From Middle English occasionally, occasionaly, occasyoneely, occasyonly, equivalent to occasional + -ly.

Synonyms

at timesever and anonevery once in a whileevery now and thenevery so oftenfrom time to timeintermittentlyirregularlynow and againnow and thenoccasionallyon occasiononce in a whilesometimessporadicallyuncommonlywhilewhilom

Antonyms

usuallyrarely

This word in other languages

ocasionalmente(Español)occasionnellement(Français)gelegentlich(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cocasionally
  • ocacsionally
  • ocasionally
  • occaisonally
  • occasinoally
  • occasioanlly
  • occasionallyy
  • occasionaly
  • occasionalyl
  • occasionlaly
  • occasionnally
  • occasoinally
  • occassionally
  • occsaionally

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of occasionally - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

cocasionally2ocacsionally2ocasionally1occaisonally2occasinoally2occasioanlly2occasionallyy1occasionaly1
Edit distance from "occasionally"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "occasionally"?
"occasionally" is spelled O-C-C-A-S-I-O-N-A-L-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈkeɪʒənəli/.
What does "occasionally" mean?
As an adverb, "occasionally" means: On occasion: at relatively infrequent intervals, from time to time, sometimes.
What words are commonly confused with "occasionally"?
"occasionally" is commonly confused with "occasional". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "occasionally"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "occasionally" is /əˈkeɪʒənəli/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "occasionally"?
From Middle English occasionally, occasionaly, occasyoneely, occasyonly, equivalent to occasional + -ly. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "occasionally", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

increasingly#3,760Pennsylvania#3,645instructions#3,820headquarters#3,885

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

reduction14 variantsamendment14 variantsCambridge14 variantsbroadcast14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list