rare

/reə/

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Explanation of the Word "Rare"

Part of Speech: Adjective

Summary:

The word "rare" is an adjective that describes something uncommon or not often found. It can refer to objects, qualities, or cooking styles, especially when discussing how meat is prepared.

Academic

Adjective

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

Synonyms

• uncommon
• rarefied
• rarified