uncommonly
Americanadverb
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in an uncommon or unusual manner or degree.
-
exceptionally; outstandingly.
-
rarely; infrequently.
adverb
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in an uncommon or unusual manner or degree; rarely
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(intensifier)
you're uncommonly friendly
Etymology
Origin of uncommonly
Explanation
Use the word uncommonly to mean "extremely" or "exceptionally" — as in the uncommonly good chocolate chip cookies your dad baked, or the uncommonly speedy way your family ate them. Rather than modifying a verb, uncommonly is one of those adverbs that almost always modifies an adjective. Use it whenever you want to emphasize how rare and exceptional something is, whether it's the uncommonly difficult crossword puzzle you solved or your uncommonly tidy bedroom. This word comes from uncommon, "not common, rare." Synonyms include words like "remarkably" and "unusually."
Vocabulary lists containing uncommonly
A Night Divided
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Anya and the Nightingale
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The False Prince
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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.
Industry veterans have described it as an uncommonly expensive documentary.
From BBC • Jan. 30, 2026
He proved to be an uncommonly effective leader, bringing in the widest possible variety of voices: Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind, Léon Krier, Demetri Porphyrios, and even 92-year-old Philip Johnson.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025
To counter this, she has an uncommonly strong script for the genre, balancing the sappy and sentimental with a slangy skater-queer-cool-kid voice inhabited comfortably by both Stella and Plaza.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2024
Johnny likes to take his time; and if his experiments are sometimes hard to watch, they are also at times uncommonly creative.
From New York Times • May 30, 2024
The walking was uncommonly easy—the ridge was almost perfectly flat—and the absence of vegetation provided uninterrupted views.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
