RARE


Meaning of RARE in English

adjective

1

BAD : Water is very rare in some parts of the country.

GOOD : Water is very scarce in some parts of the country.

◆◆◆

If certain things are rare there are only a few of them in existence: 'Rare coins are usually worth a lot of money.' A rare event is one that hardly ever happens: 'I was lucky enough to witness one of her rare public appearances.'

To describe something that is usually common but for some reason is difficult to obtain at a particular time or in a particular place, use scarce : 'After the war, food and clothing were scarce.'

2

BAD : I think that my name is rare.

GOOD : I think that my name is unusual.

BAD : In San Francisco I saw some rare architecture.

GOOD : In San Francisco I saw some unusual architecture.

◆◆◆

If something is different from what is usual, it is unusual : 'The bread had an unusual flavour.' 'Kit. That's an unusual name.'

3

BAD : It is not rare that women have a job nowadays.

GOOD : It is not unusual for women to have a job nowadays.

◆◆◆

not unusual ( for sb ) to do sth (NOT not rare ): 'It's not unusual to see business people cycling to work these days.'

Longman Common Errors English vocabulary.      Английский словарь распространенных ошибок Longman.