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rather - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'rather' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Rather [ a.]
- Prior; earlier; former.
- Earlier; sooner; before.
- More readily or willingly; preferably.
- On the other hand; to the contrary of what was said or suggested; instead.
- Of two alternatives conceived of, this by preference to, or as more likely than, the other; somewhat.
- More properly; more correctly speaking.
- In some degree; somewhat; as, the day is rather warm; the house is rather damp.

Meaning of 'rather' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . rather [ r]
Meaning (1):
- more readily or willingly
Example in sentence:
  • clean it well, preferably with warm water;
  • I'd rather be in Philadelphia;
  • I'd sooner die than give up
Meaning (2):
- on the contrary
Example in sentence:
  • he didn't call; rather (or instead), he wrote her a letter;
  • rather than disappoint the children, he did two quick tricks before he left;
  • used English terms instead of Latin ones
Meaning (3):
- to some (great or small) extent
Example in sentence:
  • he is kind of shy;
  • He's rather good at playing the cello;
  • I rather regret that I cannot attend;
  • it was rather cold;
  • the knife is rather dull;
  • the party was rather nice
Meaning (4):
- to a degree (not used with a negative)
Example in sentence:
  • quite ill;
  • quite rich;
  • quite soon;
  • quite tasty

Nearby Words:

rat rat-tail rat-tailed rata ratability ratable ratafia ratan ratany rataplan

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