Rare

Rare, a. [Compar. Rarer (râr"ẽr); superl. Rarest.] [Cf. AS. hrēr, or E. rare early. √18.] 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.

☞ This word is in common use in the United States, but in England its synonym underdone is preferred.

Rare (râr), a. [Cf. Rather, Rath.] Early. [Obs.]

Rude mechanicals that rare and late
Work in the market place.

Rare, a. [Compar. Rarer (râr"ẽr); superl. Rarest.] [F., fr. L. rarus thin, rare.] 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.

Above the rest I judge one beauty rare.

3. Thinly scattered; dispersed.

Those rare and solitary, these in flocks.

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.

Syn. -- Scarce; infrequent; unusual; uncommon; singular; extraordinary; incomparable. -- 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.

When any particular piece of money grew very scarce, it was often recoined by a succeeding emperor.