: rare, infrequent
Examples of seldom in a Sentence
Adverb
Employers also say that foreign-born workers tend to work harder, be more reliable, and complain less than the natives they can hire at the same wage. This is not surprising. Unskilled immigrants have seldom finished secondary school, but they have overcome all kinds of obstacles both to get here and to stay here.
—
Christopher Jencks, New York Review of Books, 27 Sept. 2007
"The pervasive theme is rebellion." Laurel Thatcher Ulrich begins her new book, "Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History," struggling to explain—understand—the appeal of an aside she made in the spring 1976 issue of an academic journal, a comment that has become a popular slogan printed on T-shirts and coffee mugs and bumper stickers, usually without her permission and often without attribution.
—Kathryn Harrison, New York Times Book Review, 30 Sept. 2007
Kangaroo rats belong to a North American family of rodents well known for living in arid habitats, where they forage almost exclusively for seeds. They seldom have access to drinking water, but instead get most of their moisture from digesting the seeds.
—Michael A. Mares, Natural History, November 2003
We seldom go to the movies.
This type of turtle seldom grows over four inches in length.
Christopher Jencks, New York Review of Books, 27 Sept. 2007
"The pervasive theme is rebellion." Laurel Thatcher Ulrich begins her new book, "Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History," struggling to explain—understand—the appeal of an aside she made in the spring 1976 issue of an academic journal, a comment that has become a popular slogan printed on T-shirts and coffee mugs and bumper stickers, usually without her permission and often without attribution.
—Kathryn Harrison, New York Times Book Review, 30 Sept. 2007
Kangaroo rats belong to a North American family of rodents well known for living in arid habitats, where they forage almost exclusively for seeds. They seldom have access to drinking water, but instead get most of their moisture from digesting the seeds.
—Michael A. Mares, Natural History, November 2003
We seldom go to the movies.
This type of turtle seldom grows over four inches in length.
Recent Examples on the Web
Mac Engel
march 31, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Mar. 2026
Yes, our heroine is Mary Bennet, she of the off-key singing voice and affinity for vibe-killing piano concertos, a young woman who doesn’t care that men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses and counts a day of being ignored by her family as a lucky escape from being mocked.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
This aversion to shooting first and questioning later has cost more than one good cop his life, but this fact seldom gets consideration.
—Dave Duffey, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2026
Every bite should count Wiseman says patients seldom get nutritional guidance from their doctors, and the drugs alone do not make for a quick or lasting fix without also changing eating patterns for the healthier.
—Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 23 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for seldom
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Adverb
Games that still are too typical of the NCAA women’s tournament where the higher seed seldom loses.
—Mac Engel
march 31, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Mar. 2026
Yes, our heroine is Mary Bennet, she of the off-key singing voice and affinity for vibe-killing piano concertos, a young woman who doesn’t care that men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses and counts a day of being ignored by her family as a lucky escape from being mocked.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
This aversion to shooting first and questioning later has cost more than one good cop his life, but this fact seldom gets consideration.
—Dave Duffey, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2026
Every bite should count Wiseman says patients seldom get nutritional guidance from their doctors, and the drugs alone do not make for a quick or lasting fix without also changing eating patterns for the healthier.
—Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 23 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for seldom
Cite this Entry
“Seldom.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seldom. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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