infrequency

C2+ Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /ɪnˈfrikwənsi/ UK /ɪnˈfriːkwənsi/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the state of happening rarely or seldom

The infrequency of the buses made the village hard to reach.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the state of happening... rarity scarcityuncommonnesssparsenessseldomness

Opposites

frequency regularity commonness

Word family

Related forms infrequent frequent frequency

Etymology

From in- ('not') + frequency, from Latin frequentia ('a crowd, frequency'), from frequens ('crowded, repeated').

frequentia Latin frequens Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# infrequency

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɪnˈfrikwənsi/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪnˈfriːkwənsi/

## Meanings
1. the state of happening rarely or seldom

## Examples
- The infrequency of the buses made the village hard to reach.

## Synonyms
- rarity
- scarcity
- uncommonness
- sparseness
- seldomness

## Antonyms
- frequency
- regularity
- commonness

## Related Forms
- infrequent
- frequent
- frequency

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: frequentia
- Root: frequens

## Etymology
From in- ('not') + frequency, from Latin frequentia ('a crowd, frequency'), from frequens ('crowded, repeated').

## AI Etymology
infrequency comes from in- ('not') + frequency, from Latin frequentia ('a crowd, frequency'), from frequens ('crowded, repeated'). Morphologically, the prefixed shape matters: the initial element belongs to the recorded formation and helps explain the modern form's surface analysis. In present English, the noun sense is "the state of happening rarely or seldom", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as infrequent, frequent, and frequency. Its semantic neighborhood includes rarity, scarcity, uncommonness, and sparseness, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin frequentia and Latin frequens.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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