əˈkər.ən(t)s also əˈkə̄rə- noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably from occurrent (I) , after such pairs as English abstinent : abstinence
1. : something that takes place ; especially : something that happens unexpectedly and without design : happening
a happy occurrence
a disastrous occurrence
an unusual occurrence
2.
a. : the action or process of happening or taking place
the occurrence of a genuine dispute — R.M.Dawson
b. : the action or process of being met with or coming into view : appearance
the occurrence of mammal remains falls sharply throughout the summer — Ecology
a fish of regular occurrence along the southern coast of California
: the fact of being met with or of taking place
3. : the presence of a natural form or material at a particular place ; also : the mineral, rock, or deposit thus occurring
evidence of oil occurrence
the occurrence of shallow coal beds in this region
4. : the occurring of Christian festivals
Synonyms:
incident , episode , event , circumstance : occurrence is a general term for taking place or happening and lacks much connotational range; it may suggest a happening without plan, intent, or volition
occurrences which we not only do not, but cannot perceive — Bertrand Russell
incident may suggest either a trivial happening unworthy of attention or a more consequential or unusual happening having some effect
his unexpected appearances and disappearances were incidents in the house — Willa Cather
the faculty for myth … seizes with avidity upon any incidents, surprising or mysterious — W.S.Maugham
episode stresses the notion that the occurrence in question has an apartness or unity by itself, with no implication about the significance, or lack of it, of the occurrence
the dumb creation lives a life made up of discrete and mutually irrelevant episodes — Aldous Huxley
event is more likely than others in this set to suggest a happening or occurrence of moment or significance or a happening logically ensuing from or giving rise to another happening
assassination was an event of daily occurrence — T.B.Macaulay
it is, in fact, almost a routine incident in a distinguished career. In the case of Mark Twain it became a historic event — Van Wyck Brooks
events acting upon us in unexpected, abrupt, and violent ways — John Dewey
circumstance in the general sense here involved indicates specific or detailed incident
stood reflecting on the circumstances of the preceding hours — Thomas Hardy