INDEX:
1. not common and existing only in small numbers
2. not happening often
3. rarely/not often
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ COMMON
↑ OFTEN
see also
↑ FEW/NOT MANY
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1. not common and existing only in small numbers
▷ rare /reəʳ/ [adjective]
an animal, plant, object etc that is rare does not exist in large numbers or in large amounts :
▪ A new law to prevent the export of rare birds is to be introduced.
▪ They’re pretty rare. Only about a hundred were made.
▪ The palace library contains some of the rarest books in Europe.
▪ In Cholon’s narrow streets, Europeans were far rarer than on the boulevards of Saigon.
▷ scarce /skeəʳs/ [adjective]
something that is scarce, especially something that people need such as food, clothing, or water, is not available in large enough numbers or amounts at the moment :
▪ After the war, food and clothing were scarce.
▪ With the increase in trade, good timber for shipbuilding was becoming scarcer.
scarce resources
▪ Government departments often found themselves competing for scarce resources.
▷ not common /nɒt ˈkɒmənǁ-ˈkɑː-/ [adjective]
fairly rare, especially in one particular area or group :
▪ Silver coins of this period are not common, and could be very valuable.
▪ Although tigers still exist, they’re not very common.
▷ be thin on the ground /biː ˌθɪn ɒn ðə ˈgraʊnd/ [verb phrase] British
if you say that people or things of a particular type are thin on the ground, you mean that there are very few available and they are hard to find when you need them :
▪ Our only problem is finding staff, because good programmers are really thin on the ground.
▪ Magazines about home improvement were very thin on the ground at the time - not like now.
▷ be few and far between /biː ˌfjuː ən ˌfɑːʳ bɪˈtwiːn/ [verb phrase]
to not be as common as you expect or as you would like :
▪ The schools are crowded, and good teachers are few and far between.
▪ Toys were few and far between, but the children invented games and played together.
▷ be/become a rarity /biː, bɪˌkʌm ə ˈre ə rə̇ti/ [noun phrase]
if something or someone is a rarity, it is surprising to find one, because very few exist :
▪ The traditional costume is becoming a rarity, even in remote villages.
be something of a rarity
be fairly rare
▪ Women are still something of a rarity in senior management positions.
▷ there aren’t many around /ðeər ˌɑːnt meni əˈraʊndǁ-ˌɑːrənt-/ [verb phrase] informal
use this to say that something is rare, especially something that has been made such as a machine, car, or piece of furniture :
▪ He drives an original Volkswagen, and there aren’t many of those around these days.
2. not happening often
▷ rare /reəʳ/ [adjective]
something that is rare does not happen often :
▪ Snow is a rare sight here, except on the mountains.
▪ On the rare occasions when we had to work hard, we enjoyed it.
▪ In a rare moment of vanity, Carl removed his glasses.
it is rare for somebody/something to do something
▪ It is very rare for anyone to actually die from bee stings in this country.
▷ uncommon/not common /ʌnˈkɒmən, ˌnɒt ˈkɒmənǁ-ˈkɑːmən/ [adjective]
fairly rare :
▪ Crimes against elderly people are still uncommon.
▪ Her time in hospital had given her an empathy with her patients not common among physicians.
it is uncommon to do something
▪ When I was young it was uncommon to see a man pushing a baby buggy.
▷ you don’t often do something /juː ˌdəʊnt ɒf ə n ˈduː something ǁ-ɔːf ə n-/ spoken
if you say you don’t often see something, find something etc, you mean this happens only very rarely :
▪ You don’t often find really good tropical fruit in this country.
▪ We had over 200 replies. You don’t often get such a good response from an advert.
▷ infrequent /ɪnˈfriːkwənt/ [adjective] formal
not happening often :
▪ As time went on, her visits became more and more infrequent.
▪ Cases of typhoid are relatively infrequent in Northern Europe.
▪ Roger’s infrequent letters home did not reveal much about his personal life.
3. rarely/not often
▷ rarely/seldom /ˈreəʳli, ˈseldəm/ [adverb]
not at all often. Seldom is more formal than rarely and is used especially in written English :
▪ The Queen rarely speaks to journalists.
▪ Discipline is rarely a problem in this school.
▪ They’re a very nice young couple, although I very seldom see them.
rarely does/has somebody
▪ Very rarely do we have a complaint from any of our customers.
▪ Seldom have I seen such a miraculous recovery in one of my patients.
rarely/seldom, if ever
▪ Anti-government demonstrations do occur, but they are seldom, if ever, reported in the press.
▷ not often /nɒt ˈɒf ə nǁ-ˈɔːf ə n/ [adverb]
▪ I don’t often see my grandchildren.
▪ Sometimes, but not very often, Pippa persuaded her father to lend her his car.
▪ Tina didn’t get to work until ten o'clock this morning, which is unusual because she’s not often late.
it’s not often (that)
▪ Of course I’m going to take the job, it’s not often that you get a chance like this.
▷ hardly/scarcely ever /ˌhɑːʳdli, ˌskeəʳsli ˈevəʳ/ [adverb]
almost never :
▪ My grandmother hardly ever goes out of the house.
▪ She’s hardly ever ill.
▪ We scarcely ever walk through the town without meeting someone we know.
▪ There used to be a lot of disputes over land boundaries but nowadays such problems scarcely ever arise.
▷ once in a blue moon /ˌwʌns ɪn ə ˌbluː ˈmuːn/ [adverb] informal
extremely rarely :
▪ I used to spend a lot of time in London, but now I only go there once in a blue moon.
▪ Once in a blue moon Eric will offer to help with the dishes, but usually he doesn’t do any housework at all.