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 past was basically: Become a subject matter expert, define what you’re better at than everybody else and then that is essentially how you make yourself rare and valuable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Neuroblastoma is a rare cancer which mainly affects children under five-years-old and around 100 children are diagnosed with it a year in the UK, according to Cancer Research UK.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
After that, the Chargers play at Seattle, at home against Denver, at Kansas City, and against the Rams as rare visitors at SoFi Stadium.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
Yet these enormous waste streams also contain valuable materials, including silica, rare earth elements, and other critical minerals.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
Liz is studying, and Mom had a work thing she had to finish, so I have the whole yard to myself—a rare situation.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Real surprises are rarer in the land of Too Much TV, although we shouldn’t knock reliable comforts.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
"While large, tabular icebergs are relatively common in the Southern Ocean that surrounds the Antarctic Ice Sheet, Arctic ice islands are far rarer," explains Dr. Anna Crawford of the University of Stirling.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
Elise informs Gemma that she has a special gift for making contact with those in the Further — and, even rarer, the ability to bring those spirits back into our world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Ebola is a rare but deadly viral disease and the Bundibugyo species is even rarer, with only two known prior outbreaks.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
It grew rarer as the pattern of their warring changed.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
JapanLA was auctioning the rarest Sonny Angels for hundreds of dollars, and that started bothering some fans of the fat little collectibles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
The Torrey pine is among the rarest species of pine trees in the world, according to the National Park Service.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Kemp's ridleys are the rarest sea turtle in the world, and lay their eggs on only two beaches in Mexico and in Texas, USA.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 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
Since the time of the alchemists, more and more elements have been discovered, the latest to be found tending to be the rarest.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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
People screamed and ran, horses and mules screeched and rared.
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
While American oil producers have expressed hesitancy about rushing back to Venezuela, the companies that provide them with equipment and expertise, such as Halliburton, are raring to go.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 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
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.
