How to Use rarely in a Sentence

rarely

adverb
  • She rarely talks about her past.
  • Rarely do we see this kind of weather in our area.
  • Only rarely is surgery necessary to treat this condition.
  • The good news is that the fungus rarely infects the fruit.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 12 July 2025
  • Leading this charge was Porter, the type of Dem that O.C. had rarely seen.
    Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024
  • Start with a club rarely used from the tee box, a 60-degree lob wedge.
    Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2023
  • And in Hollywood, the phone rarely rings with good news.
    Alex Convery, Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2023
  • Life is rarely this good, so don't let this day pass you by.
    Tarot Astrologers, Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2023
  • This is how bed linens should fit but rarely do, even the high-thread-count ones.
    Janice O'Leary, Robb Report, 6 Mar. 2022
  • That’s in part because such charges are rarely used and hard to win.
    Colleen Long, chicagotribune.com, 16 Jan. 2022
  • The Jazz would get Kenrich Williams for the low, low cost of one Azubuike, who rarely plays.
    Andy Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 14 Jan. 2022
  • The method has rarely been used in the United States in modern times; the last time was in Utah in 2010.
    Daniel Victor, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2022
  • And $100 of is no joke, Apple rarely drops prices this much.
    Shubham Yewale, PC Magazine, 1 May 2025
  • This is a place that tries out new ideas all the time, and on a scale rarely seen anywhere else.
    Laila Lalami, New York Times, 30 May 2023
  • One thing Dak rarely does any more is take sacks — just nine in nine starts.
    Dallas News, 11 Dec. 2022
  • The Fed can impact the economy; the Supreme Court rarely does.
    Larry Edelman, BostonGlobe.com, 24 June 2022
  • Books rarely make a sound until they’re hurled against a wall.
    Chelsea G. Summers, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2022
  • There is often a body count, but the cause of death is rarely recorded.
    Melody Schreiber, NPR, 13 Dec. 2024
  • But the best part of sports is that things rarely go as planned, even in Formula 1.
    Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 8 Mar. 2024
  • Jansen has rarely — if ever — had a bad snap in his 15 seasons with the club.
    Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 11 June 2024
  • In business, as in life, luck is rarely a random stroke of fate.
    Margie Warrell, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
  • But State of the Union Addresses rarely move the needle much.
    ABC News, 27 Feb. 2022
  • Merced has a clear styling pattern: her shoes rarely compete with the rest of her look.
    Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 7 June 2025
  • The telecast’s targeted — but rarely met — length is three to three and a half hours.
    Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Nov. 2023
  • Before Year of the Snake, the two would rarely spend time together.
    Flora Tsapovsky, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 May 2023
  • The problem is that overachievers are rarely the ones who push back.
    Benjamin Laker, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025
  • Since these mega events rarely can be postponed or replayed, time is of the essence.
    Marcus Fowler, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024
  • The difficulty level of the game may change, but the rules rarely do.
    Telis Demos, WSJ, 21 Mar. 2022
  • Bats are mostly helpful, rarely harmful and play a vital role in the ecosystem.
    Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 7 Aug. 2025
  • What has rarely been noted, however, is that Reid was open to teaming up with Page after his tour with the Stones concluded.
    George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rarely.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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