seasonal

[see-zuh-nl]

adjective

1. pertaining to, dependent on, or accompanying the seasons of the year or some particular season; periodical.

   seasonal work.

noun

1. a seasonal product, employee, etc..

   to hire seasonals.

seasonal

/ ˈsiːzənəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or occurring at a certain season or certain seasons of the year

   seasonal labour

Confusables Note

Seasonal and seasonable are sometimes interchanged, probably because of their obvious connection with season. In edited prose and in formal speech these two adjectives are almost always distinguished. Seasonal describes phenomena that occur with or depend upon a season or the seasons: seasonal fluctuations in rainfall; seasonal sales. Seasonable in reference to weather means “suitable to or characteristic of the season”: a seasonable December; seasonable temperatures for July. Seasonable also has the sense “timely, opportune”: a seasonable offer of financial assistance.

Other Word Forms

• seasonally adverb
• seasonalness noun
• multiseasonal adjective
• nonseasonal adjective
• nonseasonally adverb
• preseasonal adjective
• transseasonal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of seasonal¹

First recorded in 1830–40; season + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Goldman and Oxford both applied their own seasonal adjustments to their estimates, based on the Labor Department’s formula.

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The land is brown, the seasonal lagoon has dried up, and no one is out walking.

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Traveling to Taliesin—a Unesco World Heritage site open to day-trippers as well as overnight visitors attending seasonal workshops—feels like visiting the middle of nowhere.

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Products arriving earlier than normal are so-called core items, such as oxford shirts, polo tops and sweaters, rather than seasonal items, CFO Picicci said.

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Speakeasy is already looking at options to bring it Palm Springs or elsewhere, and is thinking of seasonal menus in the hopes that audiences may come back a second time.

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Related Words

• annual 
• intermittent 
• monthly 
• occasional 
• recurrent 
• recurring 
• regular 
• repeated 
• routine 
• sporadic 
• weekly 
• yearly