uncommon

[ uhn-kom-uhn ]

adjective

, un·com·mon·er, un·com·mon·est.

1. not common; unusual; rare:

   an uncommon word.

   Synonyms: queer, peculiar, strange, singular, odd, infrequent, scarce

2. unusual in amount or degree; above the ordinary:

   an uncommon amount of mail.

   Synonyms: extraordinary

3. exceptional; remarkable.

   Synonyms: outstanding

uncommon

/ ʌnˈkɒmən /

adjective

1. outside or beyond normal experience, conditions, etc; unusual
2. in excess of what is normal

   an uncommon liking for honey

adverb

1. See uncommonly
   an archaic word for uncommonly

Derived Forms

• unˈcommonness, noun

Other Words From

• un·common·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of uncommon¹

First recorded in 1540–50; un- ¹ + common

Example Sentences

It’s not uncommon for a seller and buyer to agree on a price and then hope the appraisal is as high as possible.

From Voice of San Diego

Eric Topol, a cardiologist and clinical-trials expert at the Scripps Research Translational Institute in San Diego, said such pauses in large studies are “not uncommon at all.”

From Fortune

It’s not uncommon to feel like you’re letting your fitness tracker down when you don’t hit your goals.

From Popular-Science

Recombinetics has since insisted that the leftover plasmid DNA was likely harmless and stressed that this sort of genetic slipup is not uncommon.

From Singularity Hub 

International cricket leagues are cropping up from Canada to Nepal, and it’s not uncommon for players to represent seven different teams in a single year.

From Ozy

Though tissues are present and tears are not uncommon, the Dinner Parties are distinctly not grief counseling or group therapy.

From The Daily Beast

These negotiations are not uncommon on junketed studio films.

From The Daily Beast

Although often this is considered proof positive of guilt at trial, it is not an uncommon occurrence in false confessions.

From The Daily Beast

Love poems between aristocratic women were not uncommon at the time, as long as they stayed safely on the side of friendship.

From The Daily Beast

Compulsive writing, or hypergraphia, is a well-known, if uncommon, symptom of temporal lobe epilepsy.

From The Daily Beast

Larger amounts are not uncommon in fevers, gastrointestinal disturbances, and certain nervous disorders.

From Project Gutenberg

Increase of hemoglobin, or hyperchromemia, is uncommon, and is probably more apparent than real.

From Project Gutenberg

A gaunt, hard-featured domestic completed this interesting family, and she was uncommon too.

From Project Gutenberg

On the other hand, except in children, where the percentage is normally low, pus is uncommon with less than 80 per cent.

From Project Gutenberg

Such a sight was not uncommon in the streets of Seoul, and Yung Pak knew well its meaning.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• abnormal
• bizarre
• egregious
• exceptional
• extraordinary
• infrequent
• noteworthy
• odd
• peculiar
• rare
• remarkable
• singular
• startling
• strange
• surprising
• unique
• unusual