infrequent
/ɪnˈfriːkw(ə)nt
/adjective
Not occurring often; rare: her visits were so infrequent...
- Rainfall is infrequent and irregular, falling mainly in winter.
- Firstly, I need to hope that you, my readers, prefer infrequent posts to hourly updates.
- She had not spoken to her parents in years and contact with her sisters was sporadic and infrequent.
Synonyms
rare, uncommon, unusual, exceptional, few and far between, few, like gold dust, as scarce as hens' teeth;
unaccustomed, unwonted;
isolated, scarce, thin on the ground, scattered;
sporadic, irregular, intermittent, fitful;
British out of the common;
North American sometime
informal once in a blue moon
dated seldom
Derivatives
infrequency
/ noun ...- Despite the relative infrequency of infractions on campus, the university community has continued to try and educate students about the issues surrounding academic offenses.
- Anyway, I feel like I've started every single one of my recent entries by remarking on the infrequency of my recent entries, so I'm going to stop now.
- The statutory half-fare bus pass has not been welcomed by many people in South Lakeland due to the infrequency of buses in the county and the problems of access for many disabled people.
Origin
Mid 16th century (in the sense 'little used, seldom done, uncommon'): from Latin infrequent- from in- 'not' + frequent- 'frequent'.