[Grammar] Can rarely and seldom be used interchangeably?

[leslieking]

Can rarely and seldom be used interchangeably?
Are they both adverbs of frequency?

Thank you!

 

[Rover_KE]

Can rarely and seldom be used interchangeably? No. Rarely means less often than seldom.

Are they both adverbs of frequency? Yes.

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[leslieking]

Thanks. I thought they are synonyms. Some websites show them as synonyms.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I agree with Rover. "Rarely" usually means less common than "seldom". They are synonyms because they both mean less common than average. But they may not be interchangeable in many cases.

 

[konungursvia]

They are synonyms, but not exact synonyms. The word can mean simply that they are similar in meaning and usage, without being the same strength or degree.

 

[Tdol]

Thanks. I thought they are synonyms. Some websites show them as synonyms.

When words are given as synonyms, that often means that they are simply similar, and often they are not exactly the same and cannot be used interchangeably.

 

[konungursvia]

Exactly... even a Thesaurus is sometimes called a "Dictionary of Synonyms."