rarely

The word “rarely” means not often; seldom. In plain terms, almost never — the opposite of "often.".

“Rarely” is pronounced RAIR-lee (/ˈɹɛəɹli/ in IPA).

Here is “rarely” used in a sentence: “She rarely eats meat.”

Words with a similar meaning to “rarely” include barely, hardly, infrequently, once in a while, seldom and sporadically.

The opposite of “rarely” — its antonyms — are frequently, usually and often.

“Rarely” is an adverb.

“Rarely” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

Rarely is about frequency and means not often, as in we rarely eat out. Barely is about degree and means only just or almost not, as in I could barely hear you. They are easy to confuse because both feel negative, but rarely counts how often something happens while barely measures how much.

The two can overlap. Scarcely often means almost not, as in I could scarcely believe it, similar to barely. But scarcely can also mean rarely, as in we scarcely see them now. Rarely is the clearer choice when you simply mean not often, without the sense of almost not at all.

The opposites relate to frequency and include often, frequently, usually, and regularly. Where rarely means something happens only now and then, these words describe it happening much of the time. Always sits at the far end, meaning every single time without exception.

You might say, she rarely misses a day of work, or it rarely snows here in spring. In each case rarely tells us the event happens only occasionally, not never but far from often. It sits comfortably before the main verb in most sentences.