a minor occurrence

USAGE SUMMARY

'a minor occurrence' is correct and usable in written English.
This phrase is used to refer to an event which has little to no impact or is unimportant in the grand scheme of things. For example, "The minor occurrence was quickly forgotten about by most people."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

Assistant Attorney General John Thurber said: "It trivialises the First Amendment to allow such a minor occurrence to constitute an adverse actions," reports Sky News.

Independent

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

59 human-written examples

In an early gesture of goodwill, United recently opened up its books, a seemingly minor occurrence that could go a long way to creating a level of trust that appeared to be missing.

Forbes

Suggesting that the need to release blood is a regular, minor occurrence ('It's nothing') Enoch from NCD, who originates from Madang, said that those men who have been 'too sexually active' must induce urethra bleeding every few weeks.

BMC International Health and Human Rights

Measurements and Main Results: Postoperative neurologic complications were defined as major, occurrence of a postoperative permanent stroke, or minor, occurrence of a new postoperative transient ischemic attack lasting < 2 hours.

Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia

You see, in 1980, the American hostages were still in Tehran, and a pompous media treated every minor occurrence with grim gravity.

Huffington Post

I know that there are far, far more important things happening around the globe, but somehow it seemed to me that it was worth stopping, if only for a moment, to mark this most minor occurrence, this slightest of happenings – the brief abundance in Britain of this charming bird which we are so sadly losing.

Independent

"The real question is, has the relatively minor occurrence of racial epithets, if they occurred at all, been made the major focus of this rally for political purposes?" he said in late September 1992.

The Guardian

One minor occurrence of transient facial skin erythema was noted.CONCLUSION: This trial suggests that treatment of rhinologic facial pain using this noninvasive microcurrent device is safe and effective in providing rapid relief of nasal/sinus pain.

Stanford University

None of this mattered to the crowds lined up outside the Geffen Center in Little Tokyo last Saturday, not the censorship or the future of museums or the tendency among many in the art world to scour each minor occurrence for meaning, the way ancient divines did the entrails of birds.

The New York Times

This trend would have been related to the minor occurrence of anaerobic methanol-dissimilatory microbial populations in the activated sludge used as the inoculum for MFCs.

Bioresources and Bioprocessing

In our results, the minor occurrence of dental caries in the children group was attributed to their receipts of major health care surveillance provided via access to free dental treatment at Hemominas - MG, Brazil.

BMC Oral Health

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "a minor occurrence" when you want to downplay the importance of an event, suggesting it has little to no impact. It is useful when providing context or dismissing concerns about something that happened.

Common error

Avoid using "a minor occurrence" sarcastically when the event actually had significant consequences. Doing so can undermine your credibility and be perceived as insensitive.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "a minor occurrence" functions as a noun phrase, acting as the subject or object of a sentence. Ludwig AI affirms its correctness and usability. It serves to identify and categorize an event based on its perceived importance or impact.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

32%

Science

44%

Academia

6%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

4%

Wiki

2%

Formal & Business

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "a minor occurrence" is a noun phrase used to describe an event that is considered insignificant or unimportant. Ludwig AI confirms its grammatical correctness and general usability. While its frequency is uncommon, it appears across diverse contexts, including News & Media, Science and Academia, with a neutral formality. When using the phrase, ensure the situation genuinely warrants a downplaying of significance to maintain credibility. Consider alternatives like "a trivial event" or "an insignificant incident" depending on the context.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

a trivial event

Replaces "occurrence" with "event" and uses the adjective "trivial" to emphasize insignificance.

an insignificant incident

Substitutes "occurrence" with "incident" and "minor" with "insignificant", both conveying a lack of importance.

a slight event

Uses "slight" as a synonym for "minor" to describe a small event.

a small matter

Replaces the formal "occurrence" with the more colloquial "matter", indicating something unimportant.

a negligible happening

Uses "negligible" to highlight the lack of impact and replaces "occurrence" with "happening".

a petty issue

Replaces "occurrence" with "issue" and uses "petty" to describe something of little consequence.

a commonplace event

Emphasizes the frequency of the event to downplay its significance, rather than its severity.

a routine incident

Suggests the event is part of a normal pattern and therefore not noteworthy.

a typical instance

Highlights the usual nature of the event, minimizing its uniqueness or importance.

a non-issue

Indicates that the supposed occurrence is not actually a problem or concern.

FAQs

What does "a minor occurrence" mean?

The phrase "a minor occurrence" refers to an event or incident that is not considered important, significant, or impactful.

How can I use "a minor occurrence" in a sentence?

You can use "a minor occurrence" to downplay an event. For example, "The scratch on the car was "a minor occurrence", and wasn't worth reporting to the insurance company."

What can I say instead of "a minor occurrence"?

Alternatives to "a minor occurrence" include "a trivial event", "an insignificant incident", or "a small matter", depending on the context.

Is "a minor occurrence" formal or informal?

"A minor occurrence" is relatively neutral and can be used in both formal and informal contexts, although more colloquial alternatives might be preferred in very informal settings. Consider "a small matter" in informal setting.