rare

[ rair ]

/ rɛər /

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See synonyms for: rare / rarer / rarest / raring on Thesaurus.com

adjective, rar·er, rar·est.

coming or occurring far apart in time; unusual; uncommon: a rare disease;His visits are rare occasions.

thinly distributed over an area; few and widely separated: Lighthouses are rare on that part of the coast.

having the component parts not closely compacted together; not dense: 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR rare

1 exceptional, extraordinary, singular.

2 sparse, infrequent.

5 choice, incomparable, inimitable.

See synonyms for rare on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR rare

1 common.

2 frequent.

5 inferior.

See antonyms for rare on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of rare

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English rar(e), rer(e) “light, airy, loose,” from Latin rārus “loose, porous, wide apart, thin, infrequent”

OTHER WORDS FROM rare

rareness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH rare

extinct, rare , scarce

Words nearby rare

rapture of the deep, rapturous, raptus, RAR, rara avis, rare, rarebit, rare book, rare earth, rare-earth element, raree show

Other definitions for rare (2 of 3)

rare²

[ rair ]

/ rɛər /

adjective, rar·er, rar·est.

(of meat) cooked just slightly: He likes his steak rare.

Origin of rare

First recorded in 1610–20; variant of earlier rear, Middle English rere, hrere, Old English hrēr “(of eggs) lightly boiled”

OTHER WORDS FROM rare

rareness, noun

Other definitions for rare (3 of 3)

rare³

[ rair ]

/ rɛər /

verb (used without object), rared, rar·ing.Older Use.

rear² (def. 6).

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rare in a sentence

Suddenly the normally rare, top-of-the-line down is popping up all at brands that have never carried it.
Why We'll See More 1,000-Fill Down Jackets This Fall|Ryan Wichelns|September 12, 2020|Outside Online
Since then, some vaccines have been associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome, but it’s rare.
Here’s what pausing the AstraZeneca-Oxford coronavirus vaccine trial really means|Aimee Cunningham|September 9, 2020|Science News
On rare occasions, vaccines can elicit the same sort of immunological misfiring.
Here’s what pausing the AstraZeneca-Oxford coronavirus vaccine trial really means|Aimee Cunningham|September 9, 2020|Science News
Overall, serious side effects from vaccines already approved by the FDA are rare.
AstraZeneca just paused its COVID-19 vaccine trial, and that’s a good thing|Claire Maldarelli|September 9, 2020|Popular-Science

In fact, many SEOs generally agree that it is rare to see a full recovery from a Google core update without Google running another Google core update.
Google says you can recover from core updates without a new core update|Barry Schwartz|September 9, 2020|Search Engine Land
Such statements are rare, as the Guards routinely avoid going public with news about the demise of one of their commanders.
What an Iranian Funeral Tells Us About the Wars in Iraq|IranWire|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Community policing is expensive and, in an era of budget cuts, increasingly rare.
How to Solve the Policing Crisis|Keli Goff|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was a rare moment of bipartisan unity in partisan Washington.
Final Chapter for Accused Africa Bomber|Jamie Dettmer|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The problem, though, is that this advice presumes that death threats are rare and abnormal.
Cover-Ups and Concern Trolls: Actually, It's About Ethics in Suicide Journalism|Arthur Chu|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
By the time it concluded with a sing-a-long of “XO,” Beyoncé had done the rare thing.
Bow Down, Bitches: How Beyoncé Turned an Elevator Brawl Into a Perfect Year|Kevin Fallon|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It has only been a rare and exceptional class hitherto that has gone on learning throughout life.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
And the absence of paper and so forth, rendering notebooks costly and rare, made a large amount of memorizing necessary.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Flowers, fruits, and insects were her favorite subjects, and were painted with rare delicacy.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
Father, mother, sister, and brother all played and worked together with rare combination of sympathetic gifts.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
Wheat gives place to Rye about the same time, and the Potato, at first comparatively rare, becomes universal.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley

British Dictionary definitions for rare (1 of 2)

rare¹

/ (rɛə) /

adjective

not widely known; not frequently used or experienced; uncommon or unusuala rare word

occurring seldoma rare appearance

not widely distributed; not generally occurringa rare herb

(of a gas, esp the atmosphere at high altitudes) having a low density; thin; rarefied

uncommonly great; extremekind to a rare degree

exhibiting uncommon excellence; superlatively good or finerare skill

highly valued because of its uncommonnessa rare prize

Derived forms of rare

rareness, noun

Word Origin for rare

C14: from Latin rārus sparse

British Dictionary definitions for rare (2 of 2)

rare²

/ (rɛə) /

adjective

(of meat, esp beef) very lightly cooked

Word Origin for rare

Old English hrēr; perhaps related to hreaw raw

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

rare

OTHER WORDS FOR rare

OPPOSITES FOR rare

Origin of rare

OTHER WORDS FROM rare

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH rare

Words nearby rare

Other definitions for rare (2 of 3)

Origin of rare

OTHER WORDS FROM rare

Other definitions for rare (3 of 3)

Words related to rare

How to use rare in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rare (1 of 2)

Derived forms of rare

Word Origin for rare

British Dictionary definitions for rare (2 of 2)

Word Origin for rare