Adjective

(-)

Occurring or appearing irregularly from time to time.

Not very often.

*{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)

, chapter=7 citation , passage=The highway to the East Coast which ran through the borough of Ebbfield had always been a main road and even now, despite the vast garages, the pylons and the gaily painted factory glasshouses which had sprung up beside it, there still remained an occasional trace of past cultures.}}

*

Created for a specific occasion.

Intended for use as the occasion requires.

Acting in the indicated role from time to time.

Adjective

(en adjective)

Unchanged through time or space; permanent.

Consistently recurring over time; persistent.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-11-16, volume=409, issue=8862, magazine=(The Economist), author=Schumpeter

, title= The mindfulness business , passage=The constant pinging of electronic devices is driving many people to the end of their tether. Electronic devices not only overload the senses and invade leisure time. They feed on themselves: the more people tweet the more they are rewarded with followers and retweets.}}

Steady in purpose, action, feeling, etc.

* Sir (Philip Sidney) (1554-1586)

Both loving one fair maid, they yet remained constant friends.

* (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

I am constant to my purposes.

* (John Dryden) (1631-1700)

His gifts, his constant courtship, nothing gained.

Firm; solid; not fluid.

* (Robert Boyle) (1627-1691)

Ifyou mix them, you may turn these two fluid liquors into a constant body.

(obsolete) Consistent; logical.

* Shakespeare, Twelfth Night IV.ii

I am no more mad than you are: make the trial of it with any constant question.