Infrequent definitions

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

INFRE'QUENT, a. [L. infrequens; in and frequens, frequent.]uncommon; seldom happening or occurring to notice; unfrequent.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: not frequent; not occurring regularly or at short intervals; "infrequent outbursts of temper" [ant: frequent]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Latin infrequent-, infrequens, from in- + frequent-, frequens frequent Date: circa 1615 1. seldom happening or occurring ; rare 2. placed or occurring at wide intervals in space or time <a slope scattered with infrequent pines> <infrequent visits> • infrequently adverb Synonyms: infrequent, uncommon, scarce, rare, sporadic mean not common or abundant. infrequent implies occurrence at wide intervals in space or time <infrequent family visits>. uncommon suggests a frequency below normal expectation <smallpox is now uncommon in many countries>. scarce implies falling short of a standard or required abundance <jobs were scarce during the Depression>. rare suggests extreme scarcity or infrequency and often implies consequent high value <rare first editions>. sporadic implies occurrence in scattered instances or isolated outbursts <sporadic cases of influenza>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. not frequent. Derivatives: infrequency n. infrequently adv. Etymology: L infrequens (as IN-(1), FREQUENT)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Infrequent In*fre"quent, a. [L. infrquens : cf.F. infrequent. See In- not, and Frequent.] Seldom happening or occurring; rare; uncommon; unusual. The act whereof is at this day infrequent or out of use among all sorts of men. --Sir T. Elyot.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

If something is infrequent, it does not happen often. ...John's infrequent visits to London. = rare ? frequent ADJ • infrequently The bridge is used infrequently. ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV with cl/group

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Uncommon, rare, unfrequent, unusual, seldom occurring.

Moby Thesaurus

almost unheard-of, cheeseparing, chinchy, chintzy, exiguous, meager, miserly, niggardly, piddling, poor, rare, scant, scanty, scarce, scattered, scrimping, scrimpy, seldom met with, seldom seen, skimping, skimpy, slim, slow, sparse, spotty, sprinkled, stingy, thin, tight, uncommon, unfrequent, unique, unusual