{
    "term": "seldom",
    "partOfSpeech": "adverb",
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "c1",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "not often",
            "labels": "(literary)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He had seldom seen a child with so much talent."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She **seldom, if ever,** goes to the theatre."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They seldom watch television these days."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Seldom had he seen such beauty."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She seldom smiled."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Why is the symphony so seldom played?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "They work hard and seldom take holidays."
                },
                {
                    "text": "People are very seldom exactly what you would like them to be."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Seldom have I come across such vindictive reviews."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It is seldom that a week passes by without my having several letters on the subject."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Revenge was seldom, if ever, the motive in these cases."
                }
            ],
            "synonyms": "rarely"
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈseldəm/",
                "audio": "se/seldom/seldom__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈseldəm/",
                "audio": "se/seldom/seldom__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Old English seldan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zelden and German selten, from a base meaning ‘strange, wonderful’."
}