rare
1thinly distributed over an area; few and widely separated: Lighthouses are rare on that part of the coast.
Origin of rare
1Other words for rare
Opposites for rare
Other words from rare
- rareness, noun
Words that may be confused with rare
Other definitions for rare (2 of 3)
(of meat) cooked just slightly: He likes his steak rare.
Origin of rare
2Other words from rare
- rareness, noun
Other definitions for rare (3 of 3)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use rare in a sentence
Old age is the saddest and rarest way to go; I witnessed it only once.
Not only, in the rarest of cases, where there a female lead in a blockbuster action movie, but the damsel in distress was a dude.
Team Peeta or Team Gale: Why the ‘Hunger Games’ Love Triangle Ruins ‘Mockingjay – Part 1’ | Kevin Fallon | November 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThis one features no red carpet, no paparazzi and, only in the rarest of circumstances, a celebrity.
Backstage at the Razzie Awards, Honoring Hollywood’s Worst Films | David Eckstein | March 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTGeorge H.W. Bush was that rarest of rarities: a genuinely modest man in the office of the presidency.
David Frum on How George H.W. Bush Was a Man of Greatness in Modesty | David Frum | October 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTIn my book it certainly qualifies as a “rarest of the rare” kind of crime.
In Europe they are made of the most costly materials, and studded with the rarest gems.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.Turner was an artist of the rarest and most generous equipment, and he had to do what he did, and never reasoned why he did it.
The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries | Charles G. HarperHappily in the pages of the ‘Tatler’ and ‘Spectator’ there is stored up for us the best and rarest of that quiet wisdom.
A Cursory History of Swearing | Julian SharmanThe walls were decorated with the rarest paintings, and the cella itself contained countless treasures.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I | John LordA phenomenon614 of the rarest kind is said to have occurred on the shore between Tyre and Ptolemaïs.
British Dictionary definitions for rare (1 of 2)
/ (rɛə) /
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
Origin of rare
1Derived forms of rare
- rareness, noun
British Dictionary definitions for rare (2 of 2)
/ (rɛə) /
(of meat, esp beef) very lightly cooked
Origin of rare
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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