What does "occasion" mean?
Occasion: A favorable opportunity; a convenient or timely chance; convenience. Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me. Rom. vii.
Additional senses
- 2.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. See Opportunity.
- 6.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.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00