adjective
                                                not widely known
                                                
                                                                                                Examples
                                                
                                                                                                        - especially valued for its uncommonness
- a rare word
- rare books
 
                                                                                        
                                                adjective
                                                recurring only at long intervals
                                                
                                                                                                Examples
                                                
                                                                                                        - a rare appearance
- total eclipses are rare events
 
                                                                                        
                                                adjective
                                                not widely distributed
                                                
                                                                                                Examples
                                                
                                                                                                        - rare herbs
- rare patches of green in the desert
 
                                                                                        
                                                adjective
                                                having low density
                                                                                                Synonyms
                                                
                                                
                                                                                                Examples
                                                
                                                                                                        - rare gasses
- lightheaded from the rarefied mountain air
 
                                                                                        
                                                adjective
                                                marked by an uncommon quality
                                                                                                Synonyms
                                                
                                                
                                                                                                Examples
                                                
                                                                                                        - 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
 
                                                                                        
                                                adjective
                                                (of meat) cooked a short time
                                                
                                                                                                Examples
                                                
                                                                                                        - still red inside
- rare roast beef