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I'm searching for an adjective that is between rare and common - e.g. something that is everyday, or ordinary, or not remarkable.

Can anyone help suggest some words I might try?

Thank you,

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    Example sentence?
    – mRotten
    Commented Jan 29, 2019 at 4:58
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    Wouldn't "ordinary" or "everyday" be much like common? They're words I find in dictionaries and a thesaurus together.
    – Zebrafish
    Commented Jan 29, 2019 at 6:48
  • That's about half the dictionary.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Jul 4, 2022 at 18:09
  • I agree with Zebrafish. The post is misleading. "everyday, or ordinary" is not between rare and common it is just common.
    – Kimbi
    Commented Feb 27, 2023 at 9:10

5 Answers 5

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First of all, common is something everyday or ordinary.

However, if you want a word that's between rare and common on a frequency scale, I suggest occasional:

[Merriam-Webster]

3 : encountered, occurring, appearing, or taken at irregular or infrequent intervals
// occasional visitors
// an occasional vacation
// found occasional errors
// occasional episodes of chest pain

In addition to the synonyms irregular and infrequent shown in the definition, there is also intermittent.

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  • In this definition it's described as "infrequent", which I consider to be somewhere in between "common" and "rare". Sure, I wouldn't place it right in the middle of the spectrum, but this is the best answer so far. Also, some people may use "occasionally" to mean up to 30, 40 or 50% frequency(???). So I think it's a good word.
    – Zebrafish
    Commented Jan 29, 2019 at 6:56
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    Thank you! I agree - I think occasional captures what I am looking for. It's not perfect, but perhaps there isn't a perfect word in this case :) Appreciate all the other input from everyone, too :)
    – aaronsnoswell
    Commented Jan 29, 2019 at 23:59
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Another option is mundane:

From Merriam Webster:

2 : characterized by the practical, transitory, and ordinary : COMMONPLACE

// the mundane concerns of day-to-day life

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  • I think "mundane" is very much like "common". Look, it says there in your definition, well kind of, "commonplace".
    – Zebrafish
    Commented Jan 29, 2019 at 6:49
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How about "uncommon"? Typically the word used in gaming circles.

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  • This would benefit from more information including a citation. It has been flagged by the system as low quality. Please see the help center.
    – livresque
    Commented Jul 4, 2022 at 20:18
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I'm searching for an adjective that is between rare and common - e.g. something that is everyday, or ordinary, or not remarkable.

That I think is a bit contradictory because everyday, ordinary, or unremarkable are all synonymous with common rather than "between rare and common."

That said, how about "sporadic"? M-W defines it as follows:

: occurring occasionally, singly, or in irregular or random instances
sporadic protests
a sporadic disease

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Here is an answer from an engineer’s point of view:

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has a defined standard IEC 61508, describing a model for specific occurrence probabilities for different likelihood categories, per year:

  • Frequent (>10^-3)
  • Probable (10^-3 to 10^-4)
  • Occasional (10^-4 to 10^-5)
  • Remote (10^-5 to 10^-6)
  • Improbable (10^-6 to 10^-7)
  • Incredible (<10^-7)

I propose you have a look at this URL

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_61508#Hazard_and_risk_analysis

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