sel·dom

(sĕl′dəm)

adv.

Not often; infrequently or rarely. See Usage Note at rarely.

adj.

Infrequent; rare: one of my seldom visits to the area.

[Middle English, from Old English seldum, alteration of seldan.]

sel′dom·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

seldom

(ˈsɛldəm)

adv

not often; rarely. Also (obsolete): seldomly

[Old English seldon; related to Old Norse sjāldan, Old High German seltan]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

sel•dom

(ˈsɛl dəm)

adv.

1. on only a few occasions; rarely; infrequently.

adj.

2. rare; infrequent.

[before 900; Middle English; Old English seldum, variant of seldan, c. Old Frisian sielden, Old High German seltan, Old Norse sjaldan]

seldom

Seldom is a formal or literary word. It is used to say that something does not happen very often.

1. position in clause

If there is no auxiliary verb, seldom usually goes in front of the verb, unless the verb is be.

He seldom laughed.

It seldom rains there.

Seldom goes after be.

She was seldom late for work.

If there is an auxiliary verb, seldom goes after it.

These birds are seldom seen.

They can seldom agree on anything.

If there is more than one auxiliary verb, seldom goes after the first one.

I have seldom been asked such difficult questions.

In literary writing, seldom is sometimes put at the beginning of a sentence, followed by an auxiliary verb and the subject.

Seldom did he ask me questions about our finances.

Seldom can there have been such a happy couple.

2. 'hardly ever'

Seldom is not normally used in conversation. Instead people say hardly ever.

It hardly ever rains there.

I've hardly ever been asked anything like that.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adv.

seldom - not often; "we rarely met"

rarely

seldom

adverb rarely, occasionally, not often, once in a while, infrequently, sporadically, once in a blue moon (informal), hardly ever, only now and then, scarcely ever They seldom speak.
often, frequently, much, again and again, over and over again, time and again, time after time, many a time

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

seldom

adverb

At rare intervals:

infrequently, little, occasionally, rarely, sporadically.

Idioms: hardly ever, once in a blue moon.

Translations

نادِرانادِراً ما

zřídka

sjældent

malofte

harvoin

rijetko

sjaldan

raramente

めったに･･･しない

드물게

reti

redko

sällan

ไม่ค่อยจะ

nadiren

hiếm khi

很少

seldom

[ˈseldəm] ADV → rara vez, pocas veces, casi nunca
it seldom rains here → aquí rara vez llueve, aquí llueve pocas veces → aquí no llueve casi nunca
seldom, if ever → rara vez or pocas veces, si es que alguna

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

seldom

[ˈsɛldəm] adv → rarement
It seldom rains there → Il pleut rarement là-bas.

seldom

adv → selten; I seldom go there → ich gehe (nur) selten dorthin; they are seldom seen → man sieht sie nur selten; seldom have I … → ich habe selten …; seldom, if ever, does he do that → er tut das nur äußerst selten

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

seldom

[ˈsɛldəm] adv → di rado, raramente

seldom

(ˈseldəm) adverb

rarely; not often. I've seldom experienced such rudeness.

seldom

→ نادِراً ما zřídka sjældent selten σπάνια rara vez harvoin rarement rijetko raramente めったに･･･しない 드물게 zelden sjelden rzadko raramente редко sällan ไม่ค่อยจะ nadiren hiếm khi 很少

seldom

adv. rara vez, con rareza, raramente.