What does seldom mean?
Seldom means that something happens rarely, infrequently, or only on a small number of occasions. It is a formal and somewhat literary adverb, and it can modify verbs such as happen, appear, occur, and visit, as well as adjectives or other parts of speech. For example, one might say that a road is seldom used or that a particular feature is seldom seen. Seldom is less absolute than never: it suggests that an event is possible but does not happen often. The word is especially useful when the emphasis is on the unusualness of a situation without suggesting that it is impossible. In casual conversation, rarely is more common, while hardly ever can express a stronger sense of infrequency. Seldom also has an older, uncommon adjectival sense meaning infrequent or uncommon.
Not often; rarely.
"The museum is seldom crowded on weekday mornings."
Formal and literary in tone, though entirely standard in modern English.
Infrequent or uncommon.
"Such a seldom occurrence deserves careful attention."
Archaic and uncommon in modern usage.
Seldom carries the reassuring sense that something may happen, but only from time to time—not that it is impossible.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does seldom come from?
Seldom comes from Old English selldom, an adverb meaning rarely or infrequently. The second element is related to the Old English suffix -dom, which forms abstract nouns and appears in words such as freedom and kingdom. The word is an inherited Germanic formation, and its precise historical development is less important today than its established modern sense of infrequent occurrence.
Related word forms
How seldom is actually used
Seldom is formal but natural in both speech and writing. It is especially common in literary, journalistic, and academic contexts. In everyday conversation, rarely is often more conversational, while hardly ever can be more emphatic. The older adjectival sense, meaning infrequent or uncommon, is now uncommon.
Easily confused with seldom
Seldom means that something happens infrequently, whereas never means that it does not happen at all.
Rare often describes something uncommon or infrequent, while seldom functions mainly as an adverb describing how often an action occurs.