If something rarely happens, it does not happen very often.
June and her daughters laughed a lot and rarely fought.
I very rarely wear a raincoat because I spend most of my time in a car.
Money was plentiful, and rarely did anyone seem very bothered about levels of expenditure.
They were rarely seen together and certainly did not travel together.
Rarely does a grand jury publicly disagree with a prosecutor.
More Synonyms of rarely
rarely in British English
(ˈrɛəlɪ)
adverb
1.
hardly ever; seldom
I'm rarely in town these days
2.
to an unusual degree; exceptionally
3. dialect
uncommonly well; excellently
he did rarely at market yesterday
▶ USAGE Since rarely means hardly ever, one should not say something rarely ever happens
rarely in American English
(ˈrɛrli)
adverb
1.
infrequently; seldom
2.
beautifully, skillfully, excellently, etc.
3.
uncommonly; exceptionally
Examples of 'rarely' in a sentence
rarely
The public rarely gets a glimpse into this world.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The problem is that the people being written about rarely seem to have done anything.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We live on a very quiet street, which cars rarely go down.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Was rarely troubled by the Malta attack but made a nuisance of himself when he got forward.
The Sun (2016)
But it rarely actually happens.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Watchers of TV drama will know that good turns rarely end well.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
I'm told that in practice this rarely happens.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It helps that my friends are fashion designers, filmmakers and chefs: there is so little overlap with any of our work that we rarely talk about it.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
There is often good opera but the people rarely talk about the music.
Susie Gilbert and Jay Shir A TALE OF FOUR HOUSES: Opera at Covent Garden, La Scala, Vienna and the Met since1945 (2003)
This was yet another match in which they rarely looked like scoring.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Some owners try to glue them back together but this rarely works well or for long.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Trouble for businesses rarely comes out of the blue.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Better to be honest than have him feel rejected because you rarely wear them.
The Sun (2008)
They go to church rarely or not at all.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
They are usually quite difficult to find as they rarely seem to advertise.
Wilkinson, Steve M.E. and You - a self-help plan (1988)
This rarely happens at the same time.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
She rarely spoke about the war and consigned her thousands of photographs to boxes in the attic.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The tourists rarely looked like winning but at least they were not embarrassed.
The Sun (2010)
Those who cross him rarely get away with it.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The nuns rarely go out and only one of them drives a car.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Sin rarely seems like sin at first beginnings.
Christianity Today (2000)
But that rarely happens because she makes sure the same people give her bike a monthly check.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Rarely can one man have straddled two such contrasting worlds.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It talks obsessively about freedom and rarely about security.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The ageing crime boss had rarely looked more vulnerable.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Spurs rarely looked like getting a second.
The Sun (2014)
But such effects are rarely worth the trouble.
Charles A. D'Ambrosio & Stewart D. Hodges & Richard Brealey & Stewart Myers Principles of Corporate Finance (1991)
They rarely end well, unless you have staff.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
They are capable of defending well and attacking well, but rarely at the same time.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
I rarely wear the same watch for more than a fortnight.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
In other languages
rarely
British English: rarely /ˈrɛəlɪ/ ADVERB
Rarely means not very often.
I very rarely wear a raincoat.
American English: rarely
Arabic: نَادِراً
Brazilian Portuguese: raramente
Chinese: 很少地
Croatian: rijetko
Czech: zřídka
Danish: sjældent
Dutch: zelden
European Spanish: casi nunca
Finnish: harvoin
French: rarement
German: selten
Greek: σπανίως
Italian: raramente
Japanese: めったに･･･しない
Korean: 드물게
Norwegian: sjelden
Polish: rzadko
European Portuguese: raramente
Romanian: rareori
Russian: редко
Latin American Spanish: ocasionalmente
Swedish: sällan
Thai: นานๆ ครั้ง
Turkish: nadiren
Ukrainian: рідко
Vietnamese: hiếm khi
Chinese translation of 'rarely'
rarely
(ˈrɛəlɪ)
adv
很少 (hěn shǎo)
1 (adverb)
Definition
hardly ever
Synonyms
seldom
They seldom speak.
hardly
almost never
hardly ever
little
We go there very little nowadays.
once in a while
infrequently
on rare occasions
once in a blue moon (informal)
Once in a blue moon you get some problems.
only now and then
scarcely ever
Opposites
often
,
commonly
,
usually
,
regularly
,
frequently
2 (adverb)
Definition
to an unusual degree
Synonyms
exceptionally
exceptionally heavy rainfall
finely
notably
a notably brave officer who had served under Wolfe at Quebec
remarkably
unusually
this year's unusually harsh winter
extraordinarily
singularly
a singularly ill-judged enterprise
uncommonly
Mary was uncommonly good at tennis.
Usage note
Since the meaning of rarely is `hardly ever', the combination rarely ever is repetitive and should be avoided in careful writing, even though you may sometimes hear this phrase used in informal speech.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of little
Definition
not much or often
We go there very little nowadays.
Synonyms
rarely,
seldom,
scarcely,
not often,
infrequently,
hardly ever
in the sense of notably
a notably brave officer who had served under Wolfe at Quebec