rare /ˈrær, ˈrɛr/
(a.)稀罕的,罕有的,珍貴的,稀薄的,半熟的,非常的(ad.)非常
rare
稀 稀少
Rare a. Early. [Obs.]
Rude mechanicals that rare and late
Work in the market place. --Chapman.
Rare, a. [Compar. Rarer superl. Rarest.] Nearly raw; partially cooked; not thoroughly cooked; underdone; as, rare beef or mutton.
New-laid eggs, which Baucis' busy care
Turned by a gentle fire, and roasted rare. --Dryden.
Note: ☞ This word is in common use in the United States, but in England its synonym underdone is preferred.
Rare, a. [Compar. Rarer superl. Rarest.]
1. Not frequent; seldom met with or occurring; unusual; as, a rare event.
2. Of an uncommon nature; unusually excellent; valuable to a degree seldom found.
Rare work, all filled with terror and delight. --Cowley.
Above the rest I judge one beauty rare. --Dryden.
3. Thinly scattered; dispersed.
Those rare and solitary, these in flocks. --Milton.
4. Characterized by wide separation of parts; of loose texture; not thick or dense; thin; as, a rare atmosphere at high elevations.
Water is nineteen times lighter, and by consequence nineteen times rarer, than gold. --Sir I. Newton.
Syn: -- Scarce; infrequent; unusual; uncommon; singular; extraordinary; incomparable.
Usage: -- Rare, Scarce. We call a thing rare when but few examples, specimens, or instances of it are ever to be met with; as, a rare plant. We speak of a thing as scarce, which, though usually abundant, is for the time being to be had only in diminished quantities; as, a bad harvest makes corn scarce.
A perfect union of wit and judgment is one of the rarest things in the world. --Burke.
When any particular piece of money grew very scarce, it was often recoined by a succeeding emperor. --Addison.
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rare
adj 1: not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness; "a
rare word"; "rare books"
2: recurring only at long intervals; "a rare appearance";
"total eclipses are rare events"
3: not widely distributed; "rare herbs"; "rare patches of gree
in the desert"
4: marked by an uncommon quality; especially superlative or
extreme of its kind; "what is so rare as a day in
June"-J.R.Lowell; "a rare skill"; "an uncommon sense of
humor"; "she was kind to an uncommon degree" [syn: uncommon]
5: having low density; "rare gasses"; "lightheaded from the
rarefied mountain air" [syn: rarefied, rarified]
6: (of meat) cooked a short time; still red inside; "rare roast
beef"