infrequent

infrequent
adjective Etymology: Latin infrequent-, infrequens, from in- + frequent-, frequens frequent Date: circa 1615 1. seldom happening or occurring ; rare 2. placed or occurring at wide intervals in space or time <
a slope scattered with infrequent pines
>
<
infrequent visits
>
infrequently adverb Synonyms: infrequent, uncommon, scarce, rare, sporadic mean not common or abundant. infrequent implies occurrence at wide intervals in space or time <
infrequent family visits
>
. uncommon suggests a frequency below normal expectation <
smallpox is now uncommon in many countries
>
. scarce implies falling short of a standard or required abundance <
jobs were scarce during the Depression
>
. rare suggests extreme scarcity or infrequency and often implies consequent high value <
rare first editions
>
. sporadic implies occurrence in scattered instances or isolated outbursts <
sporadic cases of influenza
>
.

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • infrequent — infrequent, uncommon, scarce, rare, occasional, sporadic are comparable when they mean appearing, happening, or met with so seldom as to attract attention. Something is infrequent which does not occur often, especially within a given period of… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Infrequent — In*fre quent, a. [L. infrequens : cf. F. infrequent. See {In } not, and {Frequent}.] Seldom happening or occurring; rare; uncommon; unusual. [1913 Webster] The act whereof is at this day infrequent or out of use among all sorts of men. Sir T.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • infréquent — infréquent, ente (in fré kan, kan t ) adj. Qui n a pas lieu fréquemment. HISTORIQUE    XVIe s. •   Gorreus nie aucun medecin de ses quartiers en pouvoir parler, pour estre le mal si infrequent, PARÉ VI, 23. ÉTYMOLOGIE    Lat. infrequens, de in …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Infrequent — (v. lat.), 1) selten; 2) unbesucht; daher Infrequenz …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • infrequent — I adjective atypical, discontinuous, erratic, exceptional, extraordinary, few, inconstant, inhabitual, intermittent, irregular, limited, occasional, outstanding, periodic, phenomenal, rare, rarus, scarce, seldom happening, seldom occurring,… …   Law dictionary

  • infrequent — 1530s, from L. infrequentem (nom. infrequens) occurring seldom, unusual, from in not (see IN (Cf. in ) (1)) + frequens (see FREQUENT (Cf. frequent)). Related: Infrequently …   Etymology dictionary

  • infrequent — [adj] not happening regularly exceptional, few, few and far between*, isolated, limited, meager, occasional, odd, rare, scant, scanty, scarce, scattered, seldom, semioccasional, sparse, spasmodic, sporadic, stray, uncommon, unusual; concept 530… …   New thesaurus

  • infrequent — Infrequent, Infrequens …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • infrequent — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ not occurring often; rare. DERIVATIVES infrequency noun infrequently adverb …   English terms dictionary

  • infrequent — [in frē′kwənt] adj. [L infrequens] not frequent; happening seldom or at long intervals; rare; uncommon infrequency n. infrequence infrequently adv …   English World dictionary

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