rarely
- 1Not often; happening only on infrequent occasions and without a regular pattern.
He rarely answers his phone after dinner.
The committee rarely meets more than twice a year.
Similarseldom, infrequently, hardly
Oppositeoften, frequently, usually, always
Note
A quietly negative adverb that changes word order when it leads the sentence. In its ordinary place it sits before the verb (we rarely go out). Fronted for emphasis, it pulls the auxiliary ahead of the subject, as seldom and never do: rarely do you find an eagle this far up the river. Ever often comes along as reinforcement (rarely do you ever find), and the comparative can be either more rarely or rarelier.
Rarely do you ever find an eagle this far up the river.
Rarely does a character appeal equally to children and their aunts.
- 2In an unusually good way; excellently.
The tailor had fashioned the coat rarely, and every seam sat perfectly.
She danced rarely that night, drawing applause from the whole hall.
Similarexcellently, superbly, splendidly, finely
Note
Here the sense of rare as 'uncommon' has turned into praise: what is done in an unusual way is done unusually well. After a verb it collides with the "seldom" meaning. She danced rarely reads first as she seldom danced. So where the compliment matters, exceptionally well is the safer way to say it.
- 3To an unusual or remarkable degree; very.
The garden was rarely beautiful in the soft morning light.
Critics agreed it had been a rarely fine performance, the best of the season.
Similarunusually, remarkably, exceptionally, uncommonly, extraordinarily
Note
An intensifier that works on adjectives rather than verbs. John Florio's 1603 translation of Montaigne's Essayes calls a man "most excellent and rarely virtuous", setting it beside a superlative. Where the "excellently" meaning says how something was done, this one says how far a quality goes. Rarely beautiful can still be read as "beautiful only now and then", so context has to settle which meaning is intended.
Practice
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Origin
Formed from "rare" combined with the suffix "-ly."