Adjacent Words

Rare definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RARE, a. [L. rarus, thin.]
1. Uncommon; not frequent; as a rare event; a rare phenomenon.
2. Unusually excellent; valuable to a degree seldom found.
Rare work, all fill'd with terror and delight.
Above the rest I judge one beauty rare.
3. Thinly scattered.
4. Thin; porous; not dense; as a rare and attenuate substance.
Water is nineteen times lighter and by consequence nineteen times rarer than gold.
5. Nearly raw; imperfectly roasted or boiled; as rare beef or mutton; eggs roasted rare.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness; "a rare word"; "rare books"
2: recurring only at long intervals; "a rare appearance"; "total eclipses are rare events"
3: not widely distributed; "rare herbs"; "rare patches of green in the desert"
4: having low density; "rare gasses"; "lightheaded from the rarefied mountain air" [syn: rare, rarefied, rarified]
5: 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" [syn: rare, uncommon]
6: (of meat) cooked a short time; still red inside; "rare roast beef"

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective (rarer; rarest) Etymology: Middle English, from Latin rarus Date: 14th century 1. marked by wide separation of component particles ; thin <rare air> 2. a. marked by unusual quality, merit, or appeal ; distinctive b. superlative or extreme of its kind 3. seldom occurring or found ; uncommon Synonyms: see choice, infrequent • rareness noun II. adjective (rarer; rarest) Etymology: alteration of earlier rere, from Middle English, from Old English hr?re boiled lightly; akin to Old English hr?ran to stir, Old High German hruoren Date: 1784 cooked so that the inside is still red <rare roast beef>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. 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). Phrases and idioms: rare bird = RARA AVIS. rare earth 1 a lanthanide element. 2 an oxide of such an element. rare gas = noble gas. Derivatives: rareness n. Etymology: ME f. L rarus 2. adj. (rarer, rarest) (of meat) underdone. Etymology: var. of obs. rear half-cooked (of eggs), f. OE hrer

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rare Rare, a. [Compar. Rarer; superl. Rarest.] [Cf. AS. hr[=e]r, or E. rare early.] Nearly raw; partially cooked; not thoroughly cooked; underdone; as, rare beef or mutton. New-laid eggs, which Baucis' busy care Turned by a gentle fire, and roasted rare. --Dryden. Note: This word is in common use in the United States, but in England its synonym underdone is preferred.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rare Rare, a. [Compar. Rarer; superl. Rarest.] [F., fr. L. rarus thin, rare.] 1. Not frequent; seldom met with or occurring; unusual; as, a rare event. 2. Of an uncommon nature; unusually excellent; valuable to a degree seldom found. Rare work, all filled with terror and delight. --Cowley. Above the rest I judge one beauty rare. --Dryden. 3. Thinly scattered; dispersed. Those rare and solitary, three in flocks. --Milton. 4. Characterized by wide separation of parts; of loose texture; not thick or dense; thin; as, a rare atmosphere at high elevations. Water is nineteen times lighter, and by consequence nineteen times rarer, than gold. --Sir I. Newton. Syn: Scarce; infrequent; unusual; uncommon; singular; extraordinary; incomparable. Usage: Rare, Scarce. We call a thing rare when but few examples, specimens, or instances of it are ever to be met with; as, a rare plant. We speak of a thing as scarce, which, though usually abundant, is for the time being to be had only in diminished quantities; as, a bad harvest makes corn scarce. A perfect union of wit and judgment is one of the rarest things in the world. --Burke. When any particular piece of money grew very scarce, it was often recoined by a succeeding emperor. --Addison.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rare Rare (r[^a]r), a. [Cf. Rather, Rath.] Early. [Obs.] Rude mechanicals that rare and late Work in the market place. --Chapman.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(rarer, rarest) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Something that is rare is not common and is therefore interesting or valuable. ...the black-necked crane, one of the rarest species in the world... She collects rare plants... ? common ADJ 2. An event or situation that is rare does not occur very often. ...on those rare occasions when he did eat alone... Heart attacks were extremely rare in babies, he said... = uncommon ? common ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ to-inf 3. You use rare to emphasize an extremely good or remarkable quality. Ferris has a rare ability to record her observations on paper... ADJ: ADJ n [emphasis] 4. Meat that is rare is cooked very lightly so that the inside is still red. Thick tuna steaks are eaten rare, like beef... ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Sparse, thinly scattered. 2. Thin, subtile. 3. Uncommon, infrequent, scarce, unfrequent, singular, extraordinary, strange, out of the way, unusual. 4. Choice, fine, excellent, exquisite, incomparable, inimitable. 5. Underdone, imperfectly cooked, nearly raw.

Moby Thesaurus

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