rarely finished

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "rarely finished" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe something that is infrequently completed or brought to a conclusion. Example: "The project was rarely finished on time, leading to delays in the overall timeline."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Lifestyle

Sports

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

5 human-written examples

Why did Leonardo, who so rarely finished anything, completely redo this particular work?

The Guardian - Arts

In 1995, when Hammon started her freshman year at Colorado State, the team had rarely finished a season with a winning record.

The New Yorker

IN the past, when Austrian students rarely finished their studies at the university where they started, they liked to talk of doing the theater semester in Vienna, and the ski semester in Innsbruck.

The New York Times - Travel

Even though they rarely finished work before 2am, Dominic would get him and his cousin Bertie up at dawn for a brisk jog along the seafront and a dozen lengths in the local pool before running back for breakfast.

The Guardian - Lifestyle

Ms Harman has found an unpublished poem by Henley which neatly encapsulates his friend's personality:An Ariel quick through all his veinsWith sex and temperament and style All eloquence and balls and brains;Heroic and also infantile.Stevenson was a fanatical launcher of projects which he rarely finished.

The Economist

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

52 human-written examples

He rarely finishes a sentence.

The New Yorker

But women rarely finish nail polish, she explained.

The New York Times

"The reason I have that nickname is because I rarely finish a round".

The New York Times

— Emily Greenhouse I always have several books going and rarely finish any.

The New Yorker

I rarely finish a good three-courser feeling anything other than comfortably satisfied.

The Guardian - Lifestyle

Before bedtime, he starts but rarely finishes movies like "Seabiscuit" and "The Blues Brothers" in his hotel suite.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "rarely finished", ensure the context clearly indicates what is not being completed. This adds clarity and prevents ambiguity for the reader.

Common error

Avoid assuming the reader understands what you're referring to when you say something is "rarely finished". Always specify the subject or task to avoid confusion.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "rarely finished" functions as an adverbial modifier combined with a past participle. It describes the frequency (or infrequency) with which something is brought to completion. Ludwig AI confirms its usability in written English.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

60%

Lifestyle

20%

Sports

20%

Less common in

Science

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Formal & Business

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "rarely finished" is a grammatically correct expression used to describe something that is infrequently completed. According to Ludwig, the phrase is indeed usable in written English. While it's not a particularly common phrase, occurring rarely in the examined sources, it's found in contexts such as news, lifestyle, and sports reporting. To ensure clarity, it's advisable to specify what is "rarely finished" to avoid ambiguity. Alternatives like "infrequently completed" or "seldom concluded" can also be used. Ludwig provides further examples that showcase the phrase's flexibility in expressing incomplete actions or projects.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

infrequently completed

Replaces "finished" with a synonym emphasizing the lack of completion.

seldom concluded

Substitutes both "rarely" and "finished" with near synonyms, conveying a similar meaning.

hardly ever completed

Uses a more emphatic version of "rarely" and replaces "finished" with "completed".

scarcely brought to completion

A more formal way of saying something is almost never finished.

uncommonly terminated

Emphasizes the unusual nature of something ending.

infrequently brought to a close

A more elaborate way of saying something is rarely finished.

seldom brought to fruition

Implies that something rarely achieves its intended outcome or result.

sporadically finalized

Highlights the inconsistent nature of finishing something.

almost never done

A simpler, more direct way of expressing that something is rarely finished.

unusually wound up

Uses "wound up" as a synonym for finished, implying a conclusion.

FAQs

How can I use "rarely finished" in a sentence?

You can use "rarely finished" to describe tasks, projects, or activities that are infrequently completed. For example, "The project was "rarely finished" on time."

What are some alternatives to "rarely finished"?

Alternatives include "infrequently completed", "seldom concluded", or "hardly ever completed", depending on the desired tone and context.

Is it correct to say "rarely finish" instead of "rarely finished"?

While "rarely finish" can be grammatically correct in some contexts (e.g. "They rarely finish what they start"), "rarely finished" describes something that is in a state of incompleteness more generally.

What's the difference between "rarely finished" and "unfinished"?

"Unfinished" implies a state of being incomplete. "Rarely finished" implies that the act of finishing something is infrequent. For example, a painting can be "unfinished", whereas a task is ""rarely finished"".