Synonyms for rare
rɛərrare

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. rare

   Unique is alone of its kind; rare is infrequent of its kind; great poems are rare; "Paradise Lost" is unique. To say of a thing that it is rare is simply to affirm that it is now seldom found, whether previously common or not; as, a rare old book; a rare word; to call a thing scarce implies that it was at some time more plenty, as when we say food or money is scarce. A particular fruit or coin may be rare; scarce applies to demand and use, and almost always to concrete things; to speak of virtue, genius, or heroism as scarce would be somewhat ludicrous. Rare has the added sense of precious, which is sometimes, but not necessarily, blended with that above given; as, a rare gem. Extraordinary, signifying greatly beyond the ordinary, is a neutral word, capable of a high and good sense or of an invidious, opprobrious, or contemptuous signification; as, extraordinary genius; extraordinary wickedness; an extraordinary assumption of power; extraordinary antics; an extraordinary statement is incredible without overwhelming proof.

   See synonyms for GENERAL; NORMAL; USUAL.

   Synonyms:
   curious, extraordinary, incomparable, infrequent, odd, peculiar, precious, remarkable, scarce, singular, strange, uncommon, unique, unparalleled, unprecedented, unusual

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:2.0 / 1 vote

1. rareadjective

   not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness

   "a rare word"; "rare books"

   Synonyms:
   rarefied, rarified, uncommon

   Antonyms:
   cooked, thick, ordinary, frequent, common, abundant

2. rareadjective

   recurring only at long intervals

   "a rare appearance"; "total eclipses are rare events"

   Synonyms:
   rarefied, rarified, uncommon

   Antonyms:
   cooked, common, ordinary, frequent, abundant, thick

3. rareadjective

   not widely distributed

   "rare herbs"; "rare patches of green in the desert"

   Synonyms:
   rarefied, rarified, uncommon

   Antonyms:
   abundant, frequent, common, thick, ordinary, cooked

4. rare, rarefied, rarifiedadjective

   having low density

   "rare gasses"; "lightheaded from the rarefied mountain air"

   Synonyms:
   uncommon, rarified, noble-minded, elevated, lofty, idealistic, exalted, sublime, high-minded, high-flown, grand, rarefied

   Antonyms:
   abundant, ordinary, thick, cooked, frequent, common

5. rare, uncommonadjective

   marked by an uncommon quality; especially superlative or extreme of its kind

   "what is so rare as a day in June"-J.R.Lowell; "a rare skill"; "an uncommon sense of humor"; "she was kind to an uncommon degree"

   Synonyms:
   rarefied, rarified, uncommon

   Antonyms:
   ordinary, thick, abundant, cooked, frequent, common

6. rareadjective

   (of meat) cooked a short time; still red inside

   "rare roast beef"

   Synonyms:
   rarefied, rarified, uncommon

   Antonyms:
   abundant, common, ordinary, frequent, thick, cooked

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. rareadjective

   Synonyms:
   thin, subtile, not dense

2. rareadjective

   Synonyms:
   SCARCE, uncommon, infrequent, unfrequent, singular, extraordinary, strange, out of the way, not common

3. rareadjective

   Synonyms:
   choice, fine, excellent, exquisite, incomparable, inimitable

4. rareadjective

   Synonyms:
   underdone, nearly raw, not well done or well cooked

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. rareadjective

   Synonyms:
   uncommon, unusual, strange, infrequent, singular, curious, exquisite, fine, incomparable, recherché, sparse, dispersed, subtile, fine, thin, rarefied, tenuous, underdone

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "rare":

   uncommon, scarce, nader, infrequent, unusual, few, nadir, rarely, sparse, exceptional, rarity, precious, seldom

Suggested Resources

1. RARE

   What does RARE stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the RARE acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

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How to use rare in a sentence?

1. Eric Dorfman:

   Alpha-1 is very rare, the average person goes to seven specialists before they actually discover that they have Alpha-1.

2. British Airways:

   We are working with the Metropolitan Police and the authorities in Johannesburg to establish the facts surrounding this very rare case.

3. Sharon Tsay:

   C. auris is still relatively rare in the United States and CDC is working hard to contain its spread, one of the best ways to prevent the spread of germs like C. auris in healthcare settings is good hand hygiene.

4. Seif Islam Benatia:

   Ibrahimi is one of the rare clean politicians in Algeria who can reconcile the youth with politics. We believe he can play a very positive role.

5. Unknown:

   Friends are those rare people who ask how you are and then wait for the answer.