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Rarely vs Intermittently - What's the difference?

rarely | intermittently |

As adverbs the difference between rarely and intermittently

is that rarely is not occurring at a regular interval; seldom; not often while intermittently is stopping or starting at intervals.

rarely

English

Adverb

(en adverb)
  • Not occurring at a regular interval; seldom; not often.
    • We rarely go to the theatre.
    Rarely do you ever find an eagle this far up the river.
  • Unusually well; excellently.
  • To a rare degree; very.
  • *, II.32:
    • others speake very honourably of his life and death, and in all other circumstances declare him to have beene a most excellent and rarely virtuous man.

    Usage notes

    It is grammatically a negative word. It therefore collocates with ever rather than never. * Compare We rarely ever go to the theatre.'' with ''We almost never go to the theatre.

    Synonyms

    * barely * hardly * infrequently * once in a while * seldom * sporadically * scarcely

    Antonyms

    * frequently, usually, often

    References

    * * English frequency adverbs

    intermittently

    English

    Adverb

    (-)
  • Stopping or starting at intervals.

    • Related terms

    * intermittent * intermittence

    Synonyms

    * sporadically English frequency adverbs