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:
“We emphasize the rarity of these events and continue to believe that use of GLP-1s under medical supervision remains extremely safe, with a favorable risk/benefit profile for patients.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2026
Kwa explains that the rarity of Friedreich ataxia creates additional challenges for researchers.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
By 1941, Capra was a dedicated family man with three children, having married Lucille Reyburn in 1932; their union would last 52 years, a Hollywood rarity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Whereas 10 to 30-plus years ago, it was so much more of a rarity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
It became evident from the first moment that she was a rarity.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
In the 1950s and ’60s, there would be earworm TV-show themes—from “Have Gun—Will Travel,” “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp,” “Rawhide”—but over the decades that followed, corral-based hits became rarities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 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
We also have rarities like Australian finger lime, which gives a pinkie-size fruit that you cut in half, squeezing tart pearls into your mouth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2024
But these sojourns on cheap horses were rarities.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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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.
