rarely
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rare·ly
(râr′lē)adv.
1. Not often; infrequently: "The truth is rarely pure and never simple" (Oscar Wilde).
2. Archaic
a. In an unusual degree; exceptionally: "a rarely good judge of the best in modern literature" (Frank Harris).
b. With uncommon excellence: "You can write rarely now, after all your schooling" (George Eliot).
Usage Note: The use of ever after adverbs such as rarely, seldom, hardly, and scarcely has often been criticized as redundant, and not without reason. The sentence She rarely ever watches television expresses nothing that is not conveyed by She rarely watches television. While these constructions occur frequently in speech today, in print they are not used at similar rates. For some reason, both historically and in contemporary published prose, rarely ever and seldom ever are not very common, perhaps because rarely and seldom are more immediately associated with time than hardly, scarcely, and other minimizing adverbs are, and so the overlap with ever is more obvious. In any case, scarcely ever has a long and distinguished track record of use by admired writers, and appears with some frequency in contemporary prose: "The cold air of the fall morning had blown in through the rusted seams of the sort of vehicle that nobody in her family ever rode in, that scarcely ever appeared on the streets where she lived" (Alice Munro). Similarly, the construction hardly ever also has a long history of use by distinguished writers, including modern ones: "When he was dead I realized that I had hardly ever spoken to him" (James Baldwin). It seems then that scarcely ever and hardly ever, though technically redundant, are valued for their emphatic expressiveness, while rarely ever and seldom ever have not won such favor. They are therefore best avoided. See Usage Note at hardly.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
rarely
(ˈrɛəlɪ)adv
1. hardly ever; seldom: I'm rarely in town these days.
2. to an unusual degree; exceptionally
3. dialect uncommonly well; excellently: he did rarely at market yesterday.
Usage: Since rarely means hardly ever, one should not say something rarely ever happens
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
rare•ly
(ˈrɛər li)adv.
1. on rare occasions.
2. exceptionally; in or to an unusual degree.
3. unusually or remarkably well.
[1515–25]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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Adv. | 1. | rarely - not often; "we rarely met" frequently, oft, often, oftentimes, ofttimes - many times at short intervals; "we often met over a cup of coffee" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
rarely
adverb seldom, hardly, almost never, hardly ever, little, once in a while, infrequently, on rare occasions, once in a blue moon, only now and then, scarcely ever I rarely wear a raincoat because I spend most of my time in a car.
seldom often, commonly, usually, regularly, frequently
seldom often, commonly, usually, regularly, frequently
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
rarely
adverbAt rare intervals:
Idioms: hardly ever, once in a blue moon.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
نَادِراًنادِراً
zřídka
sjældent
harvoin
rijetko
sjaldan
めったに・・・しない
드물게
redko
sällan
นานๆ ครั้ง
nadirenender olarak
hiếm khi
rarely
[ˈrɛəlɪ] ADV → casi nunca, rara vez, raramentethat rarely happens → casi nunca or rara vez sucede eso
that method is rarely satisfactory → ese método no es satisfactorio casi nunca
it is rarely found here → aquí se encuentra con poca frecuencia
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
rarely
adv → selten
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
rare
(ˈreə) adjective1. not done, found, seen etc very often; uncommon. a rare flower; a rare occurrence.
2. (of meat) only slightly cooked. I like my steak rare.
ˈrareness nounˈrarely adverb
not often. I rarely go to bed before midnight.
ˈrarity noun1. the state of being uncommon.
2. (plural ˈrarities) something which is uncommon. This stamp is quite a rarity.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
rarely
→ نَادِراً zřídka sjældent selten σπανίως casi nunca, ocasionalmente harvoin rarement rijetko raramente めったに・・・しない 드물게 zelden sjelden rzadko raramente редко sällan นานๆ ครั้ง nadiren hiếm khi 很少地Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
rarely
adv raras vecesEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.