seasonal
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
Commonly Confused
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
Etymology
Origin of seasonal
Explanation
Seasonal things happen periodically, during a certain season. In most stores, Christmas decorations and candy canes are seasonal items. You'll probably find all kinds of fruit all year long in a large grocery store, but your local farmer's market most likely carries mainly seasonal fruit. This means they'll have apples in the fall, when they're in season, and strawberries in the spring. Workers are sometimes described as seasonal too — when they're employed just for the summer, for example: "The cafe hired lots of seasonal baristas in June."
Vocabulary lists containing seasonal
Weather and Climate - Introductory
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Weather and Climate - Middle School
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Earth Science - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The El Niño/La Niña pattern probably does influence certain storms that hit California, but only the typical seasonal variety that originate from Alaska or north of Hawaii, Ralph said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
Cruise lines tend to have their weakest performances in the first three months of the year because of seasonal travel trends.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
“It’s a beautiful spring ritual to engage with,” said Ana Caballero, the chef de cuisine at Her Place Supper Club in Philadelphia, which has an ever-changing seasonal menu.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
Researchers found that people adapted by following seasonal rivers and fishing in shallow waterholes during long dry periods.
From Science Daily • May 11, 2026
These were not just hunting paths that followed game trails or routes that peoples could easily follow during seasonal migrations.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
