occasionally

Name: occasionally, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/əˈkeɪʒənəli/

//əˈkeɪʒənəli// adv

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“occasionally” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,710 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.

#3,710
frequency rank, English: 12
letters: 14
tracked misspellings: 1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - On occasion: at relatively infrequent intervals, from time to time, sometimes.

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
Property	Value
Headword	occasionally
Language	English
Part of speech	Adverb
IPA	/əˈkeɪʒənəli/
Letters	12
Frequency rank	#3,710
Misspellings tracked	14
Confusable pairs	1
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “occasionally” sits in English frequency

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

#3,710

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for occasionally is 12 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈkeɪʒənəli/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,710 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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

Etymology

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

Synonyms

at times ever and anonevery once in a whileevery now and thenevery so often from time to time intermittently irregularly now and again now and then occasionally on occasion once in a while sometimes sporadically uncommonly while whilom

Antonyms

usually rarely

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.

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.

Using “occasionally”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is O-C-C-A-S-I-O-N-A-L-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /əˈkeɪʒənəli/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “occasional” - see the side-by-side comparison. occasionally vs occasional
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.