Do you know the definition of seldom? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word seldom, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!
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According to Collins English Dictionary and the American Heritage Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, the word seldom is an adverb that means infrequent or unusually. The word seldom is two syllables – sel-dom, and the pronunciation of seldom is seldəm.
Many different languages also contain words that mean seldom. You may notice that some of these translations of seldom look and sound similar to the word seldom. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases that look, sound, and mean something similar while they are words of different languages. These are often formed when two words have the same root or language of origin. This list of translations of the word seldom is provided by Word Sense.
According to Etymonline, the word seldom has been used since c15 as the Early Middle English and Late Old English seldum, Old English seldon, Old English seldan, and Old English selcuð/seld-cuð, an alteration of seldan and the superlative seldost from the Proto-Germanic selda. This old form created cognates such as the Dutch zeldzaam, Old Norse sjaldan, Old Frisian selden, Dutch zelden, Old High German seltan, German selten, German seltsam, Old Norse sjāldan, and more. Shakespeare used seld-shown.
What are synonyms and antonyms of seldom?
There are many different words that a person can use in place of the word seldom. These words with the same definition as the word seldom are called synonyms. Learning synonyms is a great way to expand your vocabulary, as well as to avoid repeating yourself in spoken and written English. This list of synonyms of seldom is from Power Thesaurus.
rarely
few
hardly
not much
little
irregularly
barely
once in a blue moon
at times
just barely
sporadic
semioccasional
once in a while
once or twice
not notably
scarcely
infrequent
in few instances
peculiarly
not noticeably
scarce
infrequently
unfrequently
just
not by much
now and then
from time to time
sometimes
sporadically
unfrequent
on rare occasions
occasional
unusually
scarcely ever
rare
almost not
not measurably
by a hair
almost never
occasionally
almost inconceivably
not often
not a bit
hardly ever
not markedly
uncommon
once in blue moon
unoften
oddly
uncommonly
There are also numerous different words with the opposite meaning as seldom. These are called antonyms, which are another great way to expand your English language vocabulary. These antonyms for seldom are also provided by Power Thesaurus.
The word seldom (adv.) can be used in many different ways in natural sounding English. Using words in a sentence is a great way to memorize their definitions. You can also try making flashcards or a quiz to test your knowledge of different words’ definitions. Try using this word of the day in a sentence today! Below are several examples of the word seldom being used in a sentence to help get your started.
There were seldom allegations or complaints made about the use of force from the specific NYPD officers, but the civilian complaint review board saw an uptick for the eighth straight season in recent years.
He seldom enjoyed movies, but he saw quality prospects coming to theaters in February, including Lack of Power, Serious Discipline, and FiveThirtyEight.
There was seldom such a powerful message shared in capitol council meetings, but Anna gave the most emotional speech the board had ever seen.
Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.