DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan
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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