rarity

/ˈɹɛə.ɹə.ti/

//ˈɹɛə.ɹə.ti// noun

"rarity" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rarity” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,170. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,170
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A measure of the scarcity of an object.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rarity · rarity · English

rarity · rank #18,170 · 9 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,170
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH realty

Nearest frequency peer: realty (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “rarity”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “rarity” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

rarity vs ratify
67% similar
rarity vs reality
71% similar
rarity vs rainy
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for rarity
PropertyValue
Headwordrarity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɹɛə.ɹə.ti/
Letters6
Frequency rank#18,170
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “rarity”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).raritylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “realty” (#18,171), “Rahul” (#18,168), “rebellious” (#18,172). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “rarity” is #18,170. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around rarity (IPA /ˈɹɛə.ɹə.ti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,170 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for rarity, with forms such as "arrity", "rairty", and "raritty". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "ratify", "reality", "rainy", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From rare + -ity, borrowed from Middle French rarité, from Latin rāritās; compare French rareté. See also rare. The correct English form is rarity, spelled R-A-R-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A measure of the scarcity of an object.
  2. 2
    Thinness; the property of having low density
  3. 3
    A rare object.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how rarity appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Only the increasing rarity bothered him, and he thought that perhaps it was this which had turned the heads of other travellers and excited those absurd tales of night-gaunts whereby they explained the loss of such climbers as fell from these perilous paths.
  2. Plant breeding is always a numbers game.[…]In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better. These rarities may be new mutations, or they can be existing ones that are neutral—or are even selected against—in a wild population. A good example is mutations that disrupt seed dispersal, leaving the seeds on the heads long af…

Etymology

From rare + -ity, borrowed from Middle French rarité, from Latin rāritās; compare French rareté. See also rare.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • arrity
  • rairty
  • raritty
  • rarityy
  • rariyt
  • rarrity
  • rartiy
  • rraity
  • rrarity

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rarity - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

arrity2rairty2raritty1rarityy1rariyt2rarrity1rartiy2rraity2
Edit distance from "rarity"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rarity"?
"rarity" is spelled R-A-R-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹɛə.ɹə.ti/.
What does "rarity" mean?
As a noun, "rarity" means: A measure of the scarcity of an object.
What words are commonly confused with "rarity"?
"rarity" is commonly confused with "ratify", "reality", "rainy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "rarity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rarity" is /ˈɹɛə.ɹə.ti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "rarity"?
From rare + -ity, borrowed from Middle French rarité, from Latin rāritās; compare French rareté. See also rare. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "rarity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list