Rare

• POS: Adjective

CIDE DICTIONARY

Rare, a. [Cf. Rather, Rath.].

 Early.  [1913 Webster]
"Rude mechanicals that rare and late
Work in the market place."  [1913 Webster]

Rare, a. [Cf. AS. hr, or E. rare early.

 Nearly raw; partially cooked; not thoroughly cooked; underdone; as, rare beef or mutton.  [1913 Webster]
" This word is in common use in the United States, but in England its synonym underdone is preferred."  [1913 Webster]
"New-laid eggs, which Baucis' busy care
Turned by a gentle fire, and roasted rare."  [1913 Webster]

Rare, a. [F., fr. L. rarus thin, rare.].

•  Not frequent; seldom met with or occurring; unusual; as, a rare event.  [1913 Webster]
•  Of an uncommon nature; unusually excellent; valuable to a degree seldom found.  [1913 Webster]

  "Rare work, all filled with terror and delight."  [1913 Webster]

  "Above the rest I judge one beauty rare."  [1913 Webster]
•  Thinly scattered; dispersed.  [1913 Webster]

  "Those rare and solitary, these in flocks."  [1913 Webster]
•  Characterized by wide separation of parts; of loose texture; not thick or dense; thin; as, a rare atmosphere at high elevations.  [1913 Webster]

  "Water is nineteen times lighter, and by consequence nineteen times rarer, than gold."  [1913 Webster]

  "A perfect union of wit and judgment is one of the rarest things in the world."  [1913 Webster]

  "When any particular piece of money grew very scarce, it was often recoined by a succeeding emperor."  [1913 Webster]

Syn. -- Scarce; infrequent; unusual; uncommon; singular; extraordinary; incomparable.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Rare, adj. (rarer, rarest)
1 seldom done or found or occurring, uncommon, unusual, few and far between.
2 exceptionally good (had a rare time).
3 of less than the usual density, with only loosely packed substance (the rare atmosphere of the mountain tops).

Idiom

rare bird = RARA AVIS. rare earth
1 a lanthanide element.
2 an oxide of such an element. rare gas = noble gas.

Derivative

rareness n.

Rare, adj. (rarer, rarest) (of meat) underdone.

Etymology

var. of obs. rear half-cooked (of eggs), f. OE hrer

THESAURUS

Rare

a cut above, above, admirable, adulterated, ahead, airy, almost unheard-of, another, ascendant, at a premium, attenuate, attenuated, atypical, beguiling, better, bewildering, boyish, breakaway, capping, celebrated, cheeseparing, chinchy, chintzy, choice, chosen, collectable, conspicuous, crude, cut, dainty, delicate, diaphanous, dilute, diluted, distinguished, eclipsing, elegant, else, eminent, enigmatic, esteemed, estimable, ethereal, exceeding, excellent, excelling, exceptional, exiguous, exquisite, extraordinary, fabulous, fallen, fantastic, fascinating, few, fine, fine-drawn, finer, finespun, first-class, first-rate, flimsy, frail, gaseous, gauzy, girlish, good, gossamer, gracile, greater, higher, in ascendancy, in short supply, in the ascendant, incomparable, incomprehensible, inconceivable, incredible, infrequent, insubstantial, lacy, light, limited, major, marked, marvelous, matchless, meager, memorable, miraculous, miserly, misty, niggardly, noble, not done, not that sort, not the same, not the type, notable, noteworthy, occasional, of a sort, of another sort, of choice, of mark, of sorts, offbeat, one up on, other, other than, otherwise, out of print, out of season, out of stock, outlandish, outstanding, over, papery, passing strange, peculiar, peerless, phenomenal, piddling, poor, prestigious, prodigious, prominent, puzzling, rarefied, raw, recherche, red, remarkable, rememberable, reputable, rivaling, saignant, salient, scant, scanty, scarce, scattered, scrimping, scrimpy, seldom, seldom met with, seldom seen, select, sensational, signal, singular, skimping, skimpy, slender, slenderish, slight, slight-made, slim, slimmish, slinky, slow, small, sodden, sparse, special, sporadic, spotty, sprinkled, stingy, strange, striking, stupendous, subtile, subtle, sui generis, super, superior, superlative, surpassing, svelte, sylphlike, telling, tenuous, thin, thin-bodied, thin-set, thin-spun, thinned, thinned-out, thinnish, threadlike, tight, topping, transcendent, transcendental, transcending, unbaked, unboiled, uncommon, uncompact, uncompressed, uncooked, uncustomary, undercooked, underdone, undreamed-of, unexpected, unfamiliar, unforgettable, unfrequent, unheard-of, unimaginable, unique, unordinary, unparalleled, unprecedented, unsubstantial, unthinkable, unthought-of, unusual, unwonted, upper, vague, vaporous, wasp-waisted, watered, watered-down, watery, weak, willowy, windy, wiredrawn, wispy, wonderful, wondrous

ROGET THESAURUS

Rare

Importance

N importance, consequence, moment, prominence, consideration, mark, materialness, import, significance, concern, emphasis, interest, greatness, superiority, notability, weight, value, usefulness, gravity, seriousness, solemnity, no joke, no laughing matter, pressure, urgency, stress, matter of life and death, memorabilia, notabilia, great doings, red-letter day, great thing, great point, main chance, the be all and the end all, cardinal point, substance, gist, sum and substance, gravamen, head and front, important part, principal part, prominent part, essential part, half the battle, sine qua non, breath of one's nostrils, cream, salt, core, kernel, heart, nucleus, keynote, keystone, corner stone, trump card, salient points, top sawyer, first fiddle, prima donna, chief, triton among the minnows, 'it', important, of importance, momentous, material, to the point, not to be overlooked, not to be despised, not to be sneezed at, egregious, weighty, of note, notable, prominent, salient, signal, memorable, remarkable, unforgettable, worthy of remark, worthy of notice, never to be forgotten, stirring, eventful, grave, serious, earnest, noble, grand, solemn, impressive, commanding, imposing, urgent, pressing, critical, instant, paramount, essential, vital, all-absorbing, radical, cardinal, chief, main, prime, primary, principal, leading, capital, foremost, overruling, of vital importance in the front rank, first-rate, superior, considerable, marked, rare, significant, telling, trenchant, emphatic, pregnant, tanti, materially, in the main, above all, kat' exochin, par excellence, to crown all, to beat all, expende Hannibalem!.

Nonimitation

N nonimitation, no imitation, originality, creativeness, invention, creation, unimitated, uncopied, unmatched, unparalleled, inimitable, unique, original, creative, inventive, untranslated, exceptional, rare, sui generis uncommon, unexampled.

Goodness

N goodness, excellence, merit, virtue, value, worth, price, super-excellence, supereminence, superiority, perfection, coup de maitre, masterpiece, chef d'ouvre, prime, flower, cream, elite, pick, A, nonesuch, nonpareil, creme de la creme, flower of the flock, cock of the roost, salt of the earth, champion, prodigy, tidbit, gem, gem of the first water, bijou, precious stone, jewel, pearl, diamond, ruby, brilliant, treasure, good thing, rara avis, one in a thousand, beneficence, good man, harmless, hurtless, unobnoxious, innocuous, innocent, inoffensive, beneficial, valuable, of value, serviceable, advantageous, edifying, profitable, salutary, favorable, propitious fair, good, good as gold, excellent, better, superior, above par, nice, fine, genuine, best, choice, select, picked, elect, recherche, rare, priceless, unparagoned, unparalleled, superlatively, good, bully, crackajack, giltedged, superfine, superexcellent, of the first water, first-rate, first-class, high- wrought, exquisite, very best, crack, prime, tiptop, capital, cardinal, standard, inimitable, admirable, estimable, praiseworthy, pleasing, couleur de rose, precious, of great price, costly, worth its weight in gold, worth a Jew's eye, priceless, invaluable, inestimable, precious as the apple of the eye, tolerable, up to the mark, unexceptionable, unobjectionable, satisfactory, tidy, in good condition, in fair condition, fresh, sound, beneficially, well, Jewels five words long, long may such goodness live!, the luxury of doing good.

Unconformity

N unconformity, nonconformity, unconformity, disconformity, unconventionality, informality, abnormity, abnormality, anomaly, anomalousness, exception, peculiarity, infraction of law, breach, of law, violation of law, violation of custom, violation of usage, infringement of law, infringement of custom, infringement of usage, teratism, eccentricity, bizarrerie, oddity, je ne sais quoi, monster, monstrosity, rarity, freak, freak of Nature, weirdo, mutant, rouser, snorter, individuality, idiosyncrasy, originality, mannerism, aberration, irregularity, variety, singularity, exemption, salvo, nonconformist, nondescript, character, original, nonesuch, nonsuch, monster, prodigy, wonder, miracle, curiosity, flying fish, black sheep, black swan, lusus naturae, rara avis, queer fish, mongrel, random breed, half-caste, half-blood, half-breed, metis, crossbreed, hybrid, mule, hinny, mulatto, tertium quid, hermaphrodite, phoenix, chimera, hydra, sphinx, minotaur, griffin, griffon, centaur, saggittary, kraken, cockatrice, wyvern, roc, dragon, sea serpent, mermaid, merman, merfolk, unicorn, Cyclops, men whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders, teratology, fish out of water, neither one thing nor another, neither fish nor fowl, neither fish flesh nor fowl nor good red herring, one in a million, one in a way, one in a thousand, outcast, outlaw, off the beaten track, oasis, uncomformable, exceptional, abnormal, abnormous, anomalous, anomalistic, out of order, out of place, out of keeping, out of tune, out of one's element, irregular, arbitrary, teratogenic, lawless, informal, aberrant, stray, wandering, wanton, peculiar, exclusive, unnatural, eccentric, egregious, out of the beaten track, off the beaten track, out of the common, out of the common run, beyond the pale of, out of the pale of, misplaced, funny, unusual, unaccustomed, uncustomary, unwonted, uncommon, rare, curious, odd, extraordinary, out of the ordinary, strange, monstrous, wonderful, unexpected, unaccountable, outre, out of the way, remarkable, noteworthy, queer, quaint, nondescript, none such, sui generis, unfashionable, fantastic, grotesque, bizarre, outlandish, exotic, tombe des nues, preternatural, denaturalized, heterogeneous, heteroclite, amorphous, mongrel, amphibious, epicene, half blood, hybrid, androgynous, androgynal, asymmetric, adelomorphous, bisexual, hermaphrodite, monoclinous, qualified, singular, unique, one-of-a-kind, newfangled, novel, non-classical, original, unconventional, unheard of, unfamiliar, undescribed, unprecedented, unparalleled, unexampled, unconformably, except, unless, save barring, beside, without, save and except, let alone, however, yet, but, once in a blue moon, once in a million years, Int, what on earth!, what in the world!, What the devil!, Holy cow!, Can you top that?, Sacre bleu, never was seen the like, never was heard the like, never was known the like, I could hardly believe it, I saw it, but I didn't believe it.

Fewness

N fewness, paucity, small number, small quantity, rarity, infrequency, handful, maniple, minority, exiguity, reduction, weeding, elimination, sarculation, decimation, eradication, few, scant, scanty, thin, rare, scattered, thinly scattered, spotty, few and far between, exiguous, infrequent, rari nantes, hardly any, scarcely any, to be counted on one's fingers, reduced, unrepeated, rarely, here and there.

Infrequency

N infrequency, rareness, rarity, fewness, seldomness, uncommonness, unfrequent, infrequent, rare, rare as a blue diamond, few, scarce, almost unheard of, unprecedented, which has not occurred within the memory of the ol, not within one's previous experience, not since Adam, scarce as hen's teeth, one in a million, few and far between, seldom, rarely, scarcely, hardly, not often, not much, infrequently, unfrequently, unoften, scarcely, scarcely ever, hardly ever, once in a blue moon, once, once in a blue moon, once in a million years, once for all, once in a way, pro hac vice, ein mal kein mal.

Rarity

N rarity, tenuity, absence of solidity, subtility, subtilty, subtlety, sponginess, compressibility, rarefaction, expansion, dilatation, inflation, subtilization, vaporization, evaporation, diffusion, gassification, ether, rare, subtile, thin, fine, tenuous, compressible, flimsy, slight, light, cavernous, spongy, rarefied, unsubstantial, uncompact, incompressed, rarefiable.

Improbability

N improbability, unlikelihood, unfavorable chance, bad chance, ghost of a chance, little chance, small chance, poor chance, scarcely any chance, no chance, bare possibility, long odds, incredibility, improbable, unlikely, contrary to all reasonable expectation, wild, far out, out of sight, outtasight, heavy, rare, unheard of, inconceivable, unimaginable, inimaginable, incredible, more than doubtful, strange, bizarre (uncomformable), the chances are against, aquila non capit muscas, pedir peras pal olmo.

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