rarity
Americannoun
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something rare, unusual, or uncommon.
Snowstorms are a rarity in the South.
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something esteemed or interesting in being rare, uncommon, or curious.
That folio is a rarity that will bring a good price.
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the state or quality of being rare.
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rare occurrence; infrequency.
Volcanic eruptions on the island occur with great rarity.
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unusual excellence.
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thinness, as of air or a gas.
noun
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a rare person or thing, esp something interesting or valued because it is uncommon
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the state or quality of being rare
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of rarity
1550–60; < Latin rāritās thinness, equivalent to rār ( us ) rare 1 + -itās -ity
Vocabulary lists containing rarity
"My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning
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"The Tempest," Vocabulary from Acts 1 and 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Roughly half of Dimon’s operating committee are women, a rarity on Wall Street.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026
Female coaches, even at the top of the women's game, are a rarity.
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026
But creating a new award altogether is more of a rarity — the last time the academy did it was 2007, when it inaugurated the Honors Award to recognize programming that drives positive social change.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026
Another nature rarity: half-red, half-yellow apple drew crowds.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 12, 2026
But in recent years these immature birds have become a rarity.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
