rare‧ly W2 / reəli $ rerli / 副词
not often 反义词 frequently :
She very rarely complains.
This method is rarely used in modern laboratories.
Grammar
In formal or literary writing, rarely can be put first, followed by an auxiliary and the subject, to emphasize that something does not often happen :
Rarely is the customer consulted on the changes.
THESAURUS
rarely not often : These geese are rarely found on inland waters. | 50% of Britons say they rarely eat meat.
not (very) often often used in everyday English instead of saying rarely : Tina’s not often late. | I don’t go there very often. | It’s not often that you get a chance like this.
seldom rarely. Seldom is more formal than rarely and is used especially in written English : He seldom slept well. | They seldom went out.
hardly ever/scarcely ever almost never : Ben’s nineteen and he’s hardly ever at home these days. | For some reason, her name was scarcely ever mentioned.
very occasionally used when you want to emphasize that something only happens a few times over a long period of time : Very occasionally the temperature drops to below 30.