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 latter, as well as vacation-home owners and renters, generate seasonal electricity demands that drive up power costs year-round.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 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
This is holding daytime temperatures several degrees below the seasonal norm with some late-season frosts at night.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
After seasonal adjustment and rounding, the Labor Department said this leads to a 0.3% decline in inflation-adjusted hourly wages, also known as real hourly earnings.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
For example, the Mediterranean crops that became Egypt’s staples require winter rains and seasonal variation in day length for their germination.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
