rarity
Americannoun
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rarities
plural
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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.
See Examples For:
But for any golfer a hole in one is a moment to remember and due to its rarity, Vigurs admitted he felt "stupid" even looking for his ball near the hole.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The rarity of Eddins’ indictment makes it all the more valuable.
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
And in a world where sports rivalries are now commoditized, sanitized, and milked for every last ounce of monetizable content, the rarity of Argentina vs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
In other words, a benefit like the caregiver leave that EMD Serono offers is still a rarity.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
The rarity of the situation is the kind of thing that makes you cry.
From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan
The diehards chase the rarities, Springsteen changes songs in and out as the spirit moves him, and there was one tour where he took requests via sign from the audience.
From Salon ● May 28, 2026
Displays have included rarities like a 1792 linen shirt belonging to a son of Marie Antoinette and the Yves Saint-Laurent mid-1960s Mondrian dress that belonged to French singer Juliette Greco.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026
Known as ‘trial pieces’ or a ‘pattern coins’, such rarities are typically sought by serious collectors.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2024
Showstoppers like Donna and Viatina-19 are rarities in Brazil, where there are more than 230 million cows, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 3, 2024
We might joke about looking “kempt” or being "couth," but in fact the negatives have no opposite forms—they’re either obsolete rarities or whimsical inventions.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
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.
