rare
1 Americanadjective
-
rarer,
comparative
-
rarest
superlative
-
coming or occurring far apart in time; unusual; uncommon: His visits are rare occasions.
a rare disease;
His visits are rare occasions.
- Synonyms:
- singular, extraordinary, exceptional
- Antonyms:
- common
-
thinly distributed over an area; few and widely separated.
Lighthouses are rare on that part of the coast.
- Synonyms:
- infrequent, sparse
- Antonyms:
- frequent
-
having the component parts not closely compacted together; not dense: lightheaded from the rare mountain air.
rare gases;
lightheaded from the rare mountain air.
-
unusually great.
a rare display of courage.
-
unusually excellent; admirable; fine.
She showed rare tact in inviting them.
- Synonyms:
- inimitable, incomparable, choice
- Antonyms:
- inferior
adjective
-
rarer,
comparative
-
rarest
superlative
verb (used without object)
adjective
-
not widely known; not frequently used or experienced; uncommon or unusual
a rare word
-
occurring seldom
a rare appearance
-
not widely distributed; not generally occurring
a rare herb
-
(of a gas, esp the atmosphere at high altitudes) having a low density; thin; rarefied
-
uncommonly great; extreme
kind to a rare degree
-
exhibiting uncommon excellence; superlatively good or fine
rare skill
-
highly valued because of its uncommonness
a rare prize
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of rare1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English rar(e), rer(e) “light, airy, loose,” from Latin rārus “loose, porous, wide apart, thin, infrequent”
Origin of rare2
First recorded in 1610–20; variant of earlier rear, Middle English rere, hrere, Old English hrēr “(of eggs) lightly boiled”
Explanation
If an event is rare, it doesn't happen often. If an object is rare, there aren't many of its kind. Obviously, finding a rare gem is a rare occasion. Rare comes from the Latin word rarus, meaning “widely spaced,” as rare things are — whether in actual space or in time. You thought it was rare to meet someone you have so much in common with, until he fainted looking at the rare steak you ordered. The rare that describes prepared meat actually has a separate origin: it comes from the long-gone word rear, meaning “half-cooked.”
Vocabulary lists containing rare
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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"The Witch Boy" by Molly Knox Ostertag
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Workshop 5, Part 1
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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.
See Examples For:
The rare halt in fighting, which was respected by both sides, allowed roads to be demined and residents to depart for either Ukraine or Russia.
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
Rhythm’s medicines, including a treatment approved for a rare disease called acquired hypothalamic obesity, would also add to AstraZeneca’s pipeline of rare-disease drugs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
The sweeping wins were driven by a rare coalition of voters across nearly all walks of American life, in cities and countryside, from the rural Midwest and Deep South to a traditionally conservative mid-Atlantic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
The expectation is that it would be extremely rare for an application to be made for a same-day hearing, the new guidance states.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
“Unremarkable ain’t a bad thing. You simply don’t have Remarkable powers, and it’s rare for Unremarkables to see the Remarkable without a wand. Bet you’ve seen strange things your whole life, haven’t you?”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
Even rarer are definitive answers to the context in which photos were taken.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
For Lim, the e-commerce specialist, the holy grail is something rarer still: a kit from North Korean carrier Air Koryo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
On Saturday evening, those levels reached 600nT, meaning it would be visible across the whole of the UK, even in the south, which is a much rarer phenomenon.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Real surprises are rarer in the land of Too Much TV, although we shouldn’t knock reliable comforts.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
“Dexter has a rarer form of Tourette’s called coprolalia,” Andrea explained.
From "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling
Scientists needed increasingly sophisticated instruments to investigate the rarest and most energetic neutrinos arriving from space.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026
Listed as "captive-bred", it belongs to the world's rarest great ape species, with around 800 individuals remaining.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
All of it’s made the Bananas the rarest of things in this commodified world: an authentic, grassroots phenomenon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Several British zoos are setting up so-called ark populations of the glutinous snail, one of Europe's rarest species, using creatures bred in a back garden in Ceredigion.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
She was tended to by a pair of sniffling women who took turns patting Mammy’s hand gingerly, like she was the rarest and most fragile doll in the world.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
A group of Chinese billionaires, including Pony Ma, the Tencent founder, issued rared public statements supporting President Xi Jinping’s contentious handling of the economy.
From New York Times ● Jul. 20, 2023
"Every pitch, I rared back, and after a while I didn't even look at the target."
From Time Magazine Archive
The citizens rared up and threw an anti-chain tax for a loss.
From Time Magazine Archive
Aware that Newton Minow got a lot of acreage simply by calling TV a "vast wasteland," Goldwater rared back his onager at a Greek-American dinner in Chicago and let the rocks fly at U.S. television.
From Time Magazine Archive
As he got near the barn, he shied at a rock in the grass, stumbled, rared up, and raced away, tail arched high.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Take, for example, a runner whose preparation for a race has gone perfectly and who is confident and raring to go.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
As for now, she is raring for the Mexican leg of her “K de Karma Tour” that kicks off on April 25 in her hometown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2026
America’s top oil producers have expressed hesitancy about rushing back to Venezuela, but the companies that provide them with equipment and expertise are raring to go.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
With England six days away from taking on France in their opening Group D game at Euro 2025, Sarina Wiegman's "special player" is fit and raring to go.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2025
By the time he’s out of the shower, Mr. Stevens has loaded the car, and Daniel’s two sisters are raring to go.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
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