seldom
Americanadverb
adjective
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of seldom
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English seldum, variant of seldan; cognate with German selten, Gothic silda-
Explanation
If you seldom see your grandmother because she lives far away, you might be grateful for the opportunity to visit her over the summer. Use the adjective seldom to refer to things that don't happen very often. A near synonym is rarely. Seldom is a Middle English word, from Old English seldum, a spelling alteration of seldan "strange, rare." In Old English, the spelling seldum came about by analogy with forms such as Old English hwilum "formerly, at one time," from hwil "time, while."
Vocabulary lists containing seldom
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 7–11
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The Crossover
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List 7
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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.
For any parent to a child with autism, navigating a day out is seldom straightforward.
From BBC • Jul. 6, 2026
By the centennial in 1876, public celebrations of the Revolution seldom mentioned external assistance.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026
His association with Rand was seldom highlighted during his Fed tenure, but even a casual reading of those essays exposes the Randian underpinnings — and the Randian self-contradictions — of his Fed policies.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2026
Much of its ecology is still a mystery because spiders in this group are seldom encountered in the wild.
From Science Daily • Jun. 17, 2026
We had seldom seen Dad look so uncomfortable.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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.
