rarity
Americannoun
-
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:
The property was designed by architecture firm Ike Kligerman Barkley, with the listing emphasizing the rarity of its expansive oceanfront setting.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
The President then had to stop for applause, a rarity at the U.N.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
One reason the mystery endured for so long was simply the rarity of inherited AnWj negative blood.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
That game against the Giants, with Heyward looking on as a Dodgers special assistant for the first time, Freeman stole a base — a rarity in recent years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
The reporter, flustered, stammered out something about the rarity of successful comebacks.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
The long list of 11 mostly rarities featured 13 soloists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Of course, there is the requisite disc of rarities and B-sides.
From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2025
The festival will feature a mixture of TV and film rarities as well as classic series, and a celebration of its archive in the annual Brum on the Box show.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2025
That upward spiral has meant that fewer and fewer individuals can actually afford to own even one of these teams—and that sports conglomerates went from rarities to the new normal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
All rarities, for which he had squandered two weeks’ salary—borrowed in advance from Mr. Sloat.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
