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Prevalent vs Rare - What's the difference?

prevalent | rare |

As verbs the difference between prevalent and rare

is that prevalent is while rare is (us|intransitive) to rear, rise up, start backwards.

As adjectives the difference between prevalent and rare

is that prevalent is prevalent while rare is (cooking|particularly meats) cooked very lightly, so the meat is still red (in the case of steak or beef in the general sense) or rare can be very uncommon; scarce or rare can be (obsolete) early.

prevalent

English

Alternative forms

* (archaic)

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Widespread or preferred.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-03
  • , author=David S. Senchina , title=Athletics and Herbal Supplements , volume=101, issue=2, page=134 , magazine= citation , passage=Athletes' use of herbal supplements has skyrocketed in the past two decades. At the top of the list of popular herbs are echinacea and ginseng, whereas garlic, St. John's wort, soybean, ephedra and others are also surging in popularity or have been historically prevalent .}}
  • Superior in frequency or dominant.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=70, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Engineers of a different kind , passage=Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.

    Synonyms

    * (l)

    See also

    * prevalently * prevalence

    References

    *

    rare

    English

    Etymology 1

    From a dialectal variant of rear, from (etyl) rere, from (etyl) . More at (l).

    Alternative forms

    * (l), (l) (UK)

    Adjective

    (en-adj)
  • (cooking, particularly meats) Cooked very lightly, so the meat is still red (in the case of steak or beef in the general sense).
  • * Dryden
  • New-laid eggs, which Baucis' busy care / Turned by a gentle fire, and roasted rare .
    Synonyms
    * (cooked very lightly) sanguinary
    Antonyms
    * (cooked very lightly) well done
    Derived terms
    * medium-rare

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) rare, from (etyl) rare, .

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Very uncommon; scarce.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= David Van Tassel], [http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/lee-dehaan Lee DeHaan
  • , title= Wild Plants to the Rescue , volume=101, issue=3, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Plant breeding is always a numbers game.
  • (label) Thin; of low density.
  • Synonyms
    * (very uncommon) scarce, selcouth, seld, seldsome, selly, geason, uncommon
    Antonyms
    * (very uncommon) common
    Derived terms
    * rare bird * rare earth mineral

    Etymology 3

    Variant of rear .

    Verb

    (rar)
  • (US) To rear, rise up, start backwards.
  • * 2006 , Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day , Vintage 2007, p. 328:
  • Frank pretended to rare back as if bedazzled, shielding his eyes with a forearm.
  • (US) To rear, bring up, raise.
  • Usage notes
    * (rft-sense) Principal current, non-literary use is of the present participle raring' with a verb in "'''raring''' to". The principal verb in that construction is ''go''. Thus, '''''raring''' to go'' ("eager (to start something)") is the expression in which '''''rare is most often encountered as a verb.

    Etymology 4

    Compare rather, rath.

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (obsolete) early
  • * Chapman
  • Rude mechanicals that rare and late / Work in the market place.

    Anagrams

    * ----