avocation

[ av-uh-key-shuhn ]

/ ˌæv əˈkeɪ ʃən /

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See synonyms for avocation on Thesaurus.com

noun

something a person does in addition to a principal occupation, especially for pleasure; hobby: Our doctor's avocation is painting.

a person's regular occupation, calling, or vocation.

Archaic. diversion or distraction.

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Origin of avocation

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin āvocātiōn- (stem of āvocātiō ) “a calling away”; see a-⁴, vocation

OTHER WORDS FROM avocation

av·o·ca·tion·al, adjectiveav·o·ca·tion·al·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH avocation

1. avocation , vocation2. avocation , evocation

Words nearby avocation

A-V nodal rhythm, A-V node, avo, avocado, avocado toast, avocation, avocet, avodire, Avogadro, Avogadro's constant, Avogadro's law

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use avocation in a sentence

Maybe, he muses, it’s because his avocation as a musician has kept him limber.
Looking to space to cure osteoarthritis|Mark Roth|October 27, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Daguillard began acquiring sketches, prints and paintings in the 1960s, but the avocation really took hold during a Paris sabbatical.
Fritz Daguillard, immunologist who studied art and Haitian history, dies of covid-19|Terence McArdle|April 2, 2021|Washington Post
He stammered, and read and wrote a lot of poetry (mostly in secret), an avocation he changed to photography for the novel.
Colm Toibin Describes The Creation Of His Quiet Masterpiece ‘Nora Webster’|Jennie Yabroff|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I think it was more a matter of self-consciousness… I always saw writing about music as purely an avocation.
Peter Guralnick: In Love With the Life of Music|Ron Hogan|March 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

His former company controller, Gayer, had in the meantime discovered his true avocation.
Accused Soccer-Mom Madam’s Money Launderer|Michael Daly|March 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He realized that, for the first time in his life, he had taken up a sound and serious avocation.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
The incongruity of Finucane's avocation, and his manners and appearance, amused his new friend Pen.
A History of Pendennis, Volume 1|William Makepeace Thackeray
Also, Jim discovered that Tuck was an old Yale man and that his avocation in life seemed to be tennis.
Still Jim|Honor Willsie Morrow
The salutary influence which good example propagates, we find stamped on every avocation in life.
Gathering Jewels|James Knowles and Matilda Darroch Knowles
He finally made a home at Teddington, in Middlesex, and devoted himself to the avocation of fruit-growing.
Essays on Modern Novelists|William Lyon Phelps

British Dictionary definitions for avocation

avocation

/ (ˌævəˈkeɪʃən) /

noun

formal a minor occupation undertaken as a diversion

not standard a person's regular job or vocation

Word Origin for avocation

C17: from Latin āvocātiō a calling away, diversion from, from āvocāre to distract, from vocāre to call

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

avocation

Origin of avocation

OTHER WORDS FROM avocation

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH avocation

Words nearby avocation

Words related to avocation

How to use avocation in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for avocation

Word Origin for avocation