Unique is alone of its kind; rare is infrequent of its kind; great poems are rare; "Paradise Lost" is unique. To say of a thing that it is rare is simply to affirm that it is now seldom found, whether previously common or not; as, a rare old book; a rare word; to call a thing scarce implies that it was at some time more plenty, as when we say food or money is scarce. A particular fruit or coin may be rare; scarce applies to demand and use, and almost always to concrete things; to speak of virtue, genius, or heroism as scarce would be somewhat ludicrous. Rare has the added sense of precious, which is sometimes, but not necessarily, blended with that above given; as, a rare gem. Extraordinary, signifying greatly beyond the ordinary, is a neutral word, capable of a high and good sense or of an invidious, opprobrious, or contemptuous signification; as, extraordinary genius; extraordinary wickedness; an extraordinary assumption of power; extraordinary antics; an extraordinary statement is incredible without overwhelming proof.
Antonyms:
See synonyms for [GENERAL]; [NORMAL]; [USUAL].
REACH.
Synonyms:
| arrive, | attain, | come to, | enter, | gain, | get to, | land. |
To reach, in the sense here considered, is to come to by motion[301] or progress. Attain is now oftenest used of abstract relations; as, to attain success. When applied to concrete matters, it commonly signifies the overcoming of hindrance and difficulty; as, the storm-beaten ship at length attained the harbor. Come is the general word for moving to or toward the place where the speaker or writer is or supposes himself to be. To reach is to come to from a distance that is actually or relatively considerable; to stretch the journey, so to speak, across the distance, as, in its original meaning, one reaches an object by stretching out the hand. To gain is to reach or attain something eagerly sought; the wearied swimmer reaches or gains the shore. One comes in from his garden; he reaches home from a journey. To arrive is to come to a destination, to reach a point intended or proposed. The European steamer arrives in port, or reaches the harbor; the dismantled wreck drifts ashore, or comes to land. Compare [ATTAIN].
Antonyms:
| depart, | embark, | go, | go away, | leave, | set out, | set sail, | start, | weigh anchor. |