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:
But as with many vaccines, more serious complications are extremely rare.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
Unlike condos and co-ops, the townhouse offers “privacy, scale, and authentic architectural grace” that is rare in homes located in multiunit buildings, it continued.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
It has been caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of the virus, which had not been seen for more than a decade.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
James Branscome, who programs the Cinematic Void series for the American Cinematheque, calls the rare chance to show the film a bucket-list experience.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
They were a rare and beautiful breed—their fur pale gray, their eyes the blue of a winter sky.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
While smaller space rocks frequently burn up in Earth's atmosphere, large orbiting rocks like asteroids are rarer.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
That’s rarer than you think and a good plan makes it rarer still.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
In Toronto, it was genuinely rarer to see a Portugal shirt without his name on the back.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Perhaps, with new technologies and methods of analysis, they can become even rarer, enabling economics to shed the image of a dismal science.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
By a similar process in German, the rarer term, Naturgesetz, comes to mean primarily law of nature, while the commoner term, Naturrecht, continues to mean natural law.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Fashionistas known as sneakerheads scramble to buy and trade the latest styles, paying a premium for the rarest pairs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Zoos, according to the reporting here, were more than happy to populate their exhibits with the rarest reptiles, whether they were smuggled in or not.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Wildlife habitats of some of the UK's rarest species have been destroyed.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
The historic observations, led by a University of Hawai'i at Mānoa research team, provide an unprecedented look at one of the world's rarest and most mysterious sharks without removing it from its habitat.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 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
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
The citizens rared up and threw an anti-chain tax for a loss.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Every pitch, I rared back, and after a while I didn't even look at the target."
From Time Magazine Archive
People screamed and ran, horses and mules screeched and rared.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Bass was also who she had to be — measured, forceful and raring to defend her record, without coming off as defensive.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 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
While Exxon Mobil balked at the idea of returning to a country that twice nationalized its assets, the oil-field service firms that work with national oil companies and Texas wildcatters alike are raring to go.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
The Harris campaign ended the night raring to debate again.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2024
I put a hand on his arm, surprised at the tautness of his body, like a wolf raring for a fight.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Definitions 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.
