Standard Lemma guide

rareness

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • CMU ARPABET: R EH1 R N IH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The property of being rare; rarity

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • We discussed the rareness of the coin and decided it was actually pretty common.
  • The patron sent back the steak because he objected to its rareness.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

noteworthy scarcity

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: rarity, infrequency

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: scarcity, scarceness

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English rare Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English rareness From rare + -ness.

Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Czech: vzácnost — property of being rare
  • German: Rarität — property of being rare
  • Greek: σπανιότητα (spaniótita) — property of being rare
  • Hindi: दुर्लभता (durlabhtā) — property of being rare
  • Hindi: विरलता (viraltā) — property of being rare
  • Hungarian: ritkaság — property of being rare
  • Irish: annamhacht — property of being rare
  • Norwegian Bokmål: sjeldenhet — property of being rare
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: sjeldanheit — property of being rare
  • Romanian: raritate — property of being rare
  • Serbo-Croatian: рије́тко̄ст — property of being rare
  • Serbo-Croatian: rijétkōst — property of being rare