Few vs. Rare — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Few and Rare
ADVERTISEMENT
Definitions
Few
Amounting to or consisting of a small number
One of my few bad habits. See Usage Note at less.
Rare
Infrequently occurring; uncommon
A rare event.
A plant that is rare in this region.
Few
Being more than one but indefinitely small in number
Bowled a few strings.
Rare
Excellent; extraordinary
A rare sense of honor.
Few
An indefinitely small number of persons or things
A few of the books have torn jackets.
ADVERTISEMENT
Rare
Thin in density; rarefied
Rare air.
Few
An exclusive or limited number
The discerning few.
The fortunate few.
Rare
Cooked just a short time so as to retain juice and redness
A rare steak.
Few
(preceded by another determiner) An indefinite, but usually small, number of.
There are a few cars (=some, but a relatively small number) in the street.
Quite a few people (=a significant number) were pleasantly surprised.
I think he's had a few drinks. [This usage is likely ironic.]
Rare
Very uncommon; scarce.
Black pearls are very rare and therefore very valuable.
ADVERTISEMENT
Few
(used alone) Not many; a small (in comparison with another number stated or implied) but somewhat indefinite number of.
There are very few people who understand quantum theory.
I was expecting a big crowd at the party, but very few people (=almost none) turned up.
Rare
(of a gas) Thin; of low density.
Few
Obscuring one to two oktas (eighths) of the sky.
Tonight: A few clouds. Increasing cloudiness overnight.
NOAA definition of the term "few clouds": An official sky cover classification for aviation weather observations, descriptive of a sky cover of 1/8 to 2/8. This is applied only when obscuring phenomena aloft are present--that is, not when obscuring phenomena are surface-based, such as fog.
Rare
Good; enjoyable.
Few
(US?) Having a 10 percent chance of measurable precipitation (0.01 inch); used interchangeably with isolated.
Rare
(cooking) Particularly of meat, especially beefsteak: cooked very lightly, so the meat is still red.
Well done
Few
Few people, few things.
Many are called, but few are chosen.
Rare
(obsolete) Early.
Few
Not many; small, limited, or confined in number; - indicating a small portion of units or individuals constituting a whole; often, by ellipsis of a noun, a few people.
Few know and fewer care.
Rare
(gaming) A scarce or uncommon item.
Few
An indefinite but relatively small number;
They bought a case of beer and drank a few
Rare
To rear, rise up, start backwards.
Few
A small elite group;
It was designed for the discriminating few
Rare
To rear, bring up, raise.
Few
A quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `a'; a small but indefinite number;
A few weeks ago
A few more wagons than usual
An invalid's pleasures are few and far between
Few roses were still blooming
Few women have led troops in battle
Rare
Early.
Rude mechanicals that rare and lateWork in the market place.
Rare
Nearly raw; partially cooked; not thoroughly cooked; underdone; as, rare beef or mutton.
New-laid eggs, which Baucis' busy careTurned by a gentle fire, and roasted rare.
Rare
Not frequent; seldom met with or occurring; unusual; as, a rare event.
Rare
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.
Rare
Thinly scattered; dispersed.
Those rare and solitary, these in flocks.
Rare
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.
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.
Rare
Not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness;
A rare word
Rare books
Rare
Recurring only at long intervals;
A rare appearance
Total eclipses are rare events
Rare
Not widely distributed;
Rare herbs
Rare patches of gree in the desert
Rare
Marked by an uncommon quality; especially superlative or extreme of its kind;
What is so rare as a day in June
A rare skill
An uncommon sense of humor
She was kind to an uncommon degree
Rare
Having low density;
Rare gasses
Lightheaded from the rarefied mountain air
Rare
(of meat) cooked a short time; still red inside;
Rare roast beef
