uncommon

American  

[uhn-kom-uhn] / ʌnˈkɒm ən /

adjective

uncommoner, uncommonest

1. not common; unusual; rare.

   an uncommon word.

   Synonyms:

   queer, peculiar, strange, singular, odd, infrequent, scarce

2. unusual in amount or degree; above the ordinary.

   an uncommon amount of mail.

   Synonyms:

   extraordinary

3. exceptional; remarkable.

   Synonyms:

   outstanding

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uncommon British  

/ ʌnˈkɒmən /

adjective

1. outside or beyond normal experience, conditions, etc; unusual

2. in excess of what is normal

   an uncommon liking for honey

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adverb

1. an archaic word for uncommonly

Other Word Forms

• uncommonness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of uncommon

First recorded in 1540–50; un- ¹ + common

Explanation

Anything uncommon is rare or unusual, like your uncommon last name, which all of your friends have trouble pronouncing. When you add the prefix un- to common, "occurring or done often," you get its opposite, uncommon. The word's earliest meaning was "not possessed in common," or not owned by everyone, from another meaning of common, "shared by the community." These days, people almost always mean "exceptional" or "not likely" when they describe something as uncommon: "It's uncommon for people to win the lottery, so don't waste your money!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

uncommon uncommoner uncommonest

Only against leg-break bowling does his average tail off a little, but only to a still respectable 31.31, while he is prolific against the uncommon left-arm unorthodox spin, averaging 48.20.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

But it is not uncommon to have spells of intense heat reaching 30C or higher even into September.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

To be sure, top firms typically anchor standard entry-level packages between $350,000 and $500,000—but higher pay isn’t uncommon, and even the lowest salaries rise quickly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

But the practice of switching clocks twice a year is uncommon elsewhere across the world, according to the Pew Research Center.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Tree hollows—holes in a trunk or branch—are not uncommon, especially in trees like me who’ve been around awhile.

From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate

If this so-called thermodynamic effect were all there was to it, temperatures now considered unusually hot would become more typical and those regarded as uncommonly cold, uncommoner still.

From Economist ● Jul. 28, 2018

I should hope so," said the boy,—"the uncommoner the better.

From The Adventures of Captain Horn by Stockton, Frank Richard

The commonest thing is quite as strange as the uncommonest, only habit blunts our sense.

From The Old Man of the Mountain, The Lovecharm and Pietro of Abano Tales from the German of Tieck by Tieck, Ludwig

Related Words

• abnormal
• bizarre
• egregious
• exceptional
• extraordinary
• infrequent
• noteworthy
• odd
• peculiar
• rare
• remarkable
• singular
• startling
• strange
• surprising
• unique
• unusual