AdverbEmployers also say that foreign-born workers tend to work harder, be more reliable, and complain less than the natives they can hire at the same wage. This is not surprising. Unskilled immigrants have seldom finished secondary school, but they have overcome all kinds of obstacles both to get here and to stay here. Christopher Jencks, New York Review of Books, 27 Sept. 2007"The pervasive theme is rebellion." Laurel Thatcher Ulrich begins her new book, "Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History," struggling to explain—understand—the appeal of an aside she made in the spring 1976 issue of an academic journal, a comment that has become a popular slogan printed on T-shirts and coffee mugs and bumper stickers, usually without her permission and often without attribution. Kathryn Harrison, New York Times Book Review, 30 Sept. 2007Kangaroo rats belong to a North American family of rodents well known for living in arid habitats, where they forage almost exclusively for seeds. They seldom have access to drinking water, but instead get most of their moisture from digesting the seeds. Michael A. Mares, Natural History, November 2003 We seldom go to the movies. This type of turtle seldom grows over four inches in length.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adverb
Being chancellor and having to make tough decisions is seldom a springboard to becoming party leader. Vernon Bogdanor, WSJ, 1 Sep. 2022 This is very difficult, since there are seldom close-up shots. Wolf Gruner, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2022 This games played out with the Revolution going forward, leaving openings in the back, but the Fire’s single-striker counter seldom was effective. Frank Dell'apa, BostonGlobe.com, 31 Aug. 2022 Getting Khmer pieces back is seldom so easy, however, even when the Cambodian investigators can trace the history of the missing artworks. Nicole Sadek, Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2022 Organizations are much more likely to have a combination of cloud and on-premises configurations that were added piecemeal, since ripping everything out and starting over is seldom an option.Forbes, 1 July 2022 Green isn’t afraid to show the Williams family praying or putting their faith in a higher power (an important dimension of so many Americans’ lives seldom depicted in studio movies). Peter Debruge, Variety, 2 Sep. 2021 The looks of adoration on their faces were of a kind seldom seen outside of a manger. Christopher Lloyd, WSJ, 27 Aug. 2022 For 45 years, Professor Sophonisba Breckinridge and Professor Edith Abbott jointly wrote books and scholarly articles and were seldom seen without each other. Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, 21 Aug. 2022
Adjective
Hiring Van Bommel, in fact, was a seldom mistake by Schmadtke. Manuel Veth, Forbes, 26 Oct. 2021 Emergency management, which at one time was a relatively seldom occurrence, now happens almost on a monthly basis. ... Christopher Keating, courant.com, 20 Aug. 2019 See More
Word History
Etymology
Adverb and Adjective
Middle English, from Old English seldan; akin to Old High German seltan seldom
First Known Use
Adverb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above