rare

(redirected from rarer)
Also found in: Thesaurus, Financial, Idioms, Encyclopedia.
Related to rarer: demonstrably, tactfully, Razer

rare 1

 (râr)
adj. rar·er, rar·est
1. Infrequently occurring; uncommon: a rare event; a plant that is rare in this region.
2. Excellent; extraordinary: a rare sense of honor.
3. Thin in density; rarefied: rare air.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin rārus.]

rare′ness n.

rare 2

 (râr)
adj. rar·er, rar·est
Cooked just a short time so as to retain juice and redness: a rare steak.

[Middle English rere, lightly boiled, from Old English hrēr; see kerə- in Indo-European roots.]

rare′ness n.
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.

rare

(rɛə)
adj
1. not widely known; not frequently used or experienced; uncommon or unusual: a rare word.
2. occurring seldom: a rare appearance.
3. not widely distributed; not generally occurring: a rare herb.
4. (General Physics) (of a gas, esp the atmosphere at high altitudes) having a low density; thin; rarefied
5. uncommonly great; extreme: kind to a rare degree.
6. exhibiting uncommon excellence; superlatively good or fine: rare skill.
7. highly valued because of its uncommonness: a rare prize.
[C14: from Latin rārus sparse]
ˈrareness n

rare

(rɛə)
adj
(Cookery) (of meat, esp beef) very lightly cooked
[Old English hrēr; perhaps related to hreaw raw]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

rare1

(rɛər)

adj. rar•er, rar•est.
1. occurring or found infrequently; markedly uncommon: a rare disease.
2. having the component parts loosely compacted; thin: rare gases.
3. unusually great.
4. admirable; exemplary: She showed rare tact in inviting them.
[1350–1400; Middle English < Latin rārus loose, wide apart, thin, infrequent]
rare′ness, n.

rare2

(rɛər)

adj. rar•er, rar•est.
(of meat) cooked just slightly: rare steak.
[1645–55; variant of earlier rear, Middle English rere, Old English hrēr lightly boiled]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.rare - not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness; "a rare word"; "rare books"
uncommon - not common or ordinarily encountered; unusually great in amount or remarkable in character or kind; "uncommon birds"; "frost and floods are uncommon during these months"; "doing an uncommon amount of business"; "an uncommon liking for money"; "he owed his greatest debt to his mother's uncommon character and ability"
2.rare - recurring only at long intervals; "a rare appearance"; "total eclipses are rare events"
infrequent - not frequent; not occurring regularly or at short intervals; "infrequent outbursts of temper"
3.rare - not widely distributed; "rare herbs"; "rare patches of green in the desert"
scarce - deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand; "fresh vegetables were scarce during the drought"
4.rare - having low density; "rare gasses"; "lightheaded from the rarefied mountain air"
thin - relatively thin in consistency or low in density; not viscous; "air is thin at high altitudes"; "a thin soup"; "skimmed milk is much thinner than whole milk"; "thin oil"
5.rare - marked by an uncommon qualityrare - 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"
extraordinary - beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable; "extraordinary authority"; "an extraordinary achievement"; "her extraordinary beauty"; "enjoyed extraordinary popularity"; "an extraordinary capacity for work"; "an extraordinary session of the legislature"
6.rare - (of meat) cooked a short time; still red inside; "rare roast beef"
raw - not treated with heat to prepare it for eating
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

rare

1
adjective
3. superb, great, fine, excellent, extreme, exquisite, admirable, superlative, choice, incomparable, peerless She has a rare ability to record her observations on paper.

rare

2
adjective underdone, blue, bloody, undercooked, half-cooked, half-raw Waiter, I specifically asked for this steak rare.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

rare

adjective
1. Rarely occurring or appearing:
2. Far beyond what is usual, normal, or customary:
Informal: standout.
3. Marked by great diffusion of component particles:
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
مَشْوِيٌّ قَلِيلاًنَادِرنادِرناقِص النُّضْج، مَشْوي قَليلا
krvavývzácnýřídký
sjældenikke gennemstegtrødrødstegt
erakordneharuldane
harvinainenpuolikypsä
rijedaknepotpuno pečen
félig sültritka
lítiî soîinn/steiktursjaldgæfur
珍しい生焼けの
덜 익은드문
pusžalisretai
pusjēls
riedky
redekkrvav
ovanligrarsällsynt
ไม่สุกที่พบได้น้อย
hiếm thấytái

rare

[rɛəʳ]
A. ADJ (rarer (compar) (rarest (superl)))
1. (= uncommon, infrequent) [item, book] → raro; [plant, animal] → poco común; [ability, opportunity] → excepcional; [case, occurrence] → poco frecuente
it is rare to find thates raro encontrarse con que ...
it is rare for her to comees raro que venga
she had a rare beautytenía una belleza singular
with very rare exceptionscon muy raras excepciones
in a moment of rare generosityen un momento de inusitada generosidad
to grow rare(r) [animals, plants] → volverse menos común; [visits] → hacerse más raro
on the rare occasions when he spokeen las poquísimas ocasiones en las que hablaba
it is a rare sightes algo que no se ve frecuentemente
to have a rare old timepasárselo pipa STRANGE, RARE
2. (= rarefied) [air, atmosphere] → enrarecido
3. (Culin) [steak, meat] → vuelta y vuelta, poco hecho (Sp)
B. CPD rare earth Ntierra f rara
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

rare

[ˈrɛər] adj
(existing in small numbers) [species, book, coin] → rare
a rare plant → une plante rare
a rare bird (lit)un oiseau rare
a rare bird (fig)un oiseau rare
(= infrequent, uncommon) [occasion] → rare before n; [disease] → rare
to be a rare sight → être rare
it is rare to find ... → il est rare de trouver ...
[steak] → saignant(e)
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

rare

adj (+er)
(= uncommon)selten, rar; occurrenceselten; with very rare exceptionsmit sehr wenigen Ausnahmen; it’s rare for her to comesie kommt nur selten; that rare bird, the man who remembers birthdaysdieser weiße Rabe or Ausnahmefall, ein Mann der sich Geburtstage merkt; on the rare occasions when he spokebei den seltenen Gelegenheiten, bei denen er sprach
atmospheredünn; earthsselten
meatroh; steakblutig, englisch
(inf: = great) → irrsinnig (inf); a person of rare kindnessein selten freundlicher Mensch (inf); kind to a rare degreeselten freundlich; to have a rare old timesich selten gut amüsieren
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

rare

[rɛəʳ] adj (-r (comp) (-st (superl)))
a.raro/a
in a rare moment of generosity → in un raro momento di generosità
it is rare to find that ... → capita raramente or di rado che... + sub
b. (air) → rarefatto/a
c. (meat) → al sangue, poco cotto/a
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

rare

(ˈreə) adjective
1. 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 noun
ˈrarely adverb
not often. I rarely go to bed before midnight.
ˈrarity noun
1. 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.

rare

مَشْوِيٌّ قَلِيلاً, نَادِر krvavý, vzácný rødstegt, sjælden blutig, selten σπάνιος, σχεδόν ωμός a medio cocer, poco hecho, raro harvinainen, puolikypsä rare, saignant nepotpuno pečen, rijedak al sangue, raro 珍しい, 生焼けの 덜 익은, 드문 halfrauw, zeldzaam lettstekt, sjelden na pół surowy, rzadki mal passado, malpassado, raro мясо, приготовленное с кровью, редкий ovanlig, rå ไม่สุก, ที่พบได้น้อย az pişmiş, nadir hiếm thấy, tái 半熟的, 稀罕的
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

rare

a. raro-a; único-a;
adv. raramente, casi nunca.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

rare

adj raro, poco común; (meat) poco hecho, poco cocido or cocinado
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature ?
In the cases where we can trace the extinction of a species through man, either wholly or in one limited district, we know that it becomes rarer and rarer, and is then lost: it would be difficult to point out any just distinction [13] between a species destroyed by man or by the increase of its natural enemies.
But the alteration of a single word by Euripides, who employed the rarer term instead of the ordinary one, makes one verse appear beautiful and the other trivial.
For that was the gist of that article, written evidently by a man who not only knows but UNDERSTANDS - a thing (let me remark in passing) much rarer than one would expect, because the sort of understanding I mean is inspired by love; and love, though in a sense it may be admitted to be stronger than death, is by no means so universal and so sure.
You, perhaps, may tell your story in safety, en- deared as you are to so many warm hearts by rare gifts, and a still rarer devotion of them to the service of others.
"Well, youngster, must I take you?" he said, trying to smile, when Addy stretched out his arms--ready, with the usual baseness of infancy, to give up his Uncle Seth at once, now there was some rarer patronage at hand.
It would be pleasant to take her away from that London in which she seemed an unusual figure, like a cornflower in a shop among orchids and azaleas; he had learned in the Kentish hop-field that she did not belong to the town; and he was sure that she would blossom under the soft skies of Dorset to a rarer beauty.
Holmes I always loved, and not for his wit alone, which is so obvious to liking, but for those rarer and richer strains of his in which he shows himself the lover of nature and the brother of men.
Poetic scholar!--If we must reserve the sacred name of "poet" to a very small number, that humbler but perhaps still rarer title is due indisputably to Mr.
What with a cooling drink adapted to the weather, but not so weak as cool; and what with a rarer tobacco than was to be bought in those parts; Tom was soon in a highly free and easy state at his end of the sofa, and more than ever disposed to admire his new friend at the other end.
When we travel from south to north, or from a damp region to a dry, we invariably see some species gradually getting rarer and rarer, and finally disappearing; and the change of climate being conspicuous, we are tempted to attribute the whole effect to its direct action.
All their enjoyment, indeed, seemed to be made up of the little trifling incidents of the passing hour; but these diminutive items swelled altogether to an amount of happiness seldom experienced by more enlightened individuals, whose pleasures are drawn from more elevated but rarer sources.
"The fatal apple of Eden couldn't have had a rarer flavor," commented Anne.