avocation

[ av-uh-key-shuhn ]

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.

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

Words that may be confused with avocation

1. avocation , vocation
2. avocation , evocation

Words Nearby avocation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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 | THE 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 | THE 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 | THE 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

Origin of 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

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