rarity
Americannoun
plural
rarities-
something rare, unusual, or uncommon.
Snowstorms are a rarity in the South.
-
something esteemed or interesting in being rare, uncommon, or curious.
That folio is a rarity that will bring a good price.
-
the state or quality of being rare.
-
rare occurrence; infrequency.
Volcanic eruptions on the island occur with great rarity.
-
unusual excellence.
-
thinness, as of air or a gas.
noun
-
a rare person or thing, esp something interesting or valued because it is uncommon
-
the state or quality of being rare
Etymology
Origin of rarity
1550–60; < Latin rāritās thinness, equivalent to rār ( us ) rare 1 + -itās -ity
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.
Those attacks were a Gulf rarity at the time.
From Barron's
But this would have been impractical given the rarity of the disease, and unethical because some children would receive a placebo for a fatal disease.
Warmth has become both a rarity and a necessity.
From Salon
There have been successes in other areas, despite the rarity of growth miracles.
He knows the economy has changed since his parents started their careers: His father earned a pension early on, a rarity these days.
Definitions 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.
