rarely
Americanadverb
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on rare occasions; infrequently; seldom.
I'm rarely late for appointments.
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exceptionally; in an unusual degree.
-
unusually or remarkably well; excellent.
adverb
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hardly ever; seldom
I'm rarely in town these days
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to an unusual degree; exceptionally
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dialect uncommonly well; excellently
he did rarely at market yesterday
Usage
Since rarely means hardly ever , one should not say something rarely ever happens
Etymology
Origin of rarely
Explanation
If you almost never do something, you can say you do it rarely. If you walk or bike to work most days, you could say that you rarely take the bus. Something that happens rarely happens only once in a while, or seldom. You might sigh that your town's baseball team rarely wins a game, or boast that you rarely forget a person's name once you've been introduced. The word comes from the adjective rare, "not occurring often," or "unusual," from the Old French rere, "sparse," and its root, the Latin word rarus, "thinly sown, with intervals between, or full of empty spaces."
Vocabulary lists containing rarely
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Academic Vocabulary: Core Tier 2 Words, List 9
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Rosetta Stone's Essential Academic Vocabulary: Lesson 17
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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.
Those interviewed all said the mother and son kept to themselves and that he rarely went out.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
And here’s one rarely considered thought: What am I going to do about my mailing address and phone number?
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
During the video evidence, Brand watched the TV screen attached to the dock - rarely taking his eyes away.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
She rarely looked down at her notepad, unlike Raman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
She rarely spoke to anyone other than those with whom she traded.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
