Master confusing words with ease
Intermittent vs. Occasional
Intermittent
/ˌɪntəˈmɪtənt/Examples:
The rain was intermittent throughout the day.His health suffered due to his intermittent sleeping schedule.The city's power supply was intermittent during the storm.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Occasional
/əˈkeɪʒənəl/Examples:
The road was in poor condition with the occasional large hole.'I will be calm!' he said, knocking over an occasional table.She attends the meetings, making occasional comments.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
- Occasional implies something happens at irregular intervals but not frequently enough to be considered a regular pattern.
- Intermittent suggests a regular stop-start pattern that may occur at consistent or irregular intervals.
- If something is occasional, it might happen once in a while, but intermittent could happen frequently but with breaks.
- Remember that occasional is often used for events or happenings that you dont expect to occur often, whereas intermittent' may imply an expectation of recurrence.
- You might use occasional for surprise or rare events, while intermittent might describe a persistent issue with pauses, like an intermittent internet connection.
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