rarity

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

Sparseness

Nouns

1. rarity, tenuity, subtlety, thinness, lightness, compressibility; rarefaction, attenuation, dilatation, inflation. See vapor.

2. rareness, scarcity, uncommonness, infrequency, infrequence; collector's item. See unconformity.

Verbs — rarefy, expand, dilate, attenuate, thin out.

Adjectives

1. rare, subtle, thin, fine, tenuous, compressible, slight, light, ethereal; rarefied, unsubstantial.

2. scarce, unusual, infrequent, uncommon, few [and far between], scant, sporadic, occasional; part-time; unprecedented, unheard-of; odd, curious, singular.

Adverbs — rarely, infrequently, etc.; seldom, scarcely or hardly ever; once in a [great] while, once in a blue moon; now and then or again, from time to time, at times; once and for all.

Quotations — A well-written life is almost as rare as a well-spent one (Thomas Carlyle), A lucky man is rarer than a white cow ( Juvenal), What is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days ( James Russell Lowell), Simplicity, most rare in our age (Ovid), Truth is rarely pure and never simple (Oscar Wilde).

Antonyms, see density, frequency, multitude.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [Infrequency]

Syn. rareness, scarcity, uncommonness; see irregularity 2 , lack 1 , 2 .

2. [A phenomenon]

Syn. curiosity, one of a kind, collector's item; see gem 2 , wonder 2 .