rarely
advUK /ˈɹɛːli/ · US /ˈɹɛəɹli/
Etymology From rare + -ly.
1
Not occurring at a regular interval; seldom; not often.
- We rarely go to the theatre.
- Rarely do you ever find an eagle this far up the river.
1 more example
- You have to give them credit, rarely does a character appeal equally to four-year-old children and middle-aged aunts posting tepid jokes and fake Oscar Wilde quotes on their timelines.2019 December 31, AJ Willingham, “All the trends we loved and hated in the 2010s”, in CNN:
2
Unusually well; excellently.
- After all the schooling, I can finally write rarely now.
3
To a rare degree; very.
- I became a rarely good judge of the best in modern painting.
- others speake very honourably of his life and death, and in all other circumstances declare him to have beene a most excellent and rarely virtuous man.1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 32, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
- Synonyms
- barely, hardly, infrequently, once in a while, seldom, sporadically, scarcely, rarely, seldomly, uncommonly, unoften
- Antonyms
- frequently, usually, often
- Hyponyms
- very rarely, extremely rarely, once in a blue moon, once in a purple moon, hardly ever, scarcely ever, seldom if ever, almost never
- Coordinate terms
- occasionally