Englishfor English speakers

rather English

Meaning rather meaning

What does rather mean?

Definitions in simple English

rather Adverb

— If something is rather large, different, difficult, etc., it is quite that way. I saw something rather unusual this morning. — When you would rather do something, you want to do it more than something else. I would rather see a film (than stay home). — instead of He went rather than stay behind and be alone. — You use or rather to change what you have just said. I went there, or rather I had planned to go there, last week.

rather Coordinator

— mathx/math rather than mathy/math is mathx/math, not mathy/math We're going to do it sooner rather than later. People who learn languages quickly are the exception rather than the rule. The prices are likely to increase rather than decrease.

rather Interjection

— You use rather to show that you agree strongly. "Did you like the movie?" "Rather!"

rather

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

Synonyms rather synonyms

What other words have the same or similar meaning as rather?

rather English » English

quite somewhat fairly pretty sufficiently preferably enough instead very a little sooner better on the contrary more ideally considerably a bit slightly readily comparatively but to some extent relatively really perhaps much more easily all the more willingly the contrary sort of some little kinda kind of intensifier instead of in preference further even certainly where well vice versa tolerably tolerable to the contrary to some degree time there

Topics rather topics

What do people use rather to talk about?

Language and thought Emotion Feel good Like, love

Prefer

What words refer to preferring to do something?

prefer to do something prefer doing something would prefer to do something would rather do something would sooner do something be in favor of doing something
What words refer to wanting someone to do something more than something else?

would prefer would rather

Language and thought Want Decide, plan

Choose

What words refer to choosing something?

choose select prefer decide on pick designate elect favor opt for specify vote would rather have

Grammar Connected with, related Coordinate relations But

Instead

What words indicate that something is true of one thing instead of another thing?

instead rather than in place of in preference to in favor of in lieu

Examples rather examples

How do I use rather in a sentence?

Simple sentences

I'd rather stay home than go alone.

I'd rather walk than wait for a bus.

I'd rather stay here.

The result was rather disappointing.

It is very fine today so I would rather go out than stay at home.

I am a writer rather than a teacher.

I have rather a busy afternoon in front of me.

I would rather starve than steal.

Rather than light-hearted and cheerful men, I'm attracted to sober men with a bit of a dark side to them.

Tom asked Mary a rather difficult question.

Saying that you would rather learn Spanish than Esperanto is like saying you would rather run a marathon than go for a Sunday walk; of course you end up doing neither.

It's rather cold.

That is rather unexpected.

More people get into trouble for things they say rather than for what they do.

Even if it isn't true, it's still rather clever.

I'd rather be a bird than a fish.

I would rather you had a day off.

I would rather go to the mountains than to the beach.

I would rather stay at home.

I'd rather stay at home.

I would rather stay at home than go to the movies.

I would rather kill myself than reconcile myself to my fate.

I would rather stay at home than go out in the rain.

The doctor thought the patient's pulse was rather rapid.

I would rather let him have his own way.

The shoes you are wearing look rather expensive.

I would like to stress that it is more convenient to control tariffs as a bloc rather than country by country.

I would rather stay at home than go out.

We were all rather exhausted.

I would rather go out than stay at home.

Movie subtitles

Or rather, spice race.

The kind of economically driven civilization that today seems to be working rather better in the East.

I think it will benefit you more rather then trying to mimic being generous with rotten grain.

Tell her I'd rather spend time along with my girlfriend than with my own mother?

Well, I guess he was more a man of words rather than of faces.

It started some years ago when Brenda White, Janelle Peacocke, Professor Plummer and I realised we all shared our rather unique surnames with a timeless, classic and most rewarding board game.

I'm sorry, but would it be wrong for me to say I'm actually rather enjoying this?

As you can see, my hands are rather full.

It's rather chilling.

I'd rather not say. Please!

Nurse Dyer explained that your dress-making efforts rather overwhelmed you.

I was rather hoping for a vision in white, having braved the gorgon at my lodgings and the gaggle of gorgons at the portals here.

Are you saying you would rather I didn't squander your resources?

Oh, this is rather embarrassing.

The king's son! That's rather flattering.

But we'd rather live according to our own laws and customs.

It's rather cold in here, wouldn't you agree?

You'd rather I be alone?

You mean my boyfriend who'd rather be with sad little Maya than with me?

Um, I'd rather just hang out, me and you.

Oh, come now. That sounds rather boring to me.

Tell me of your youth or why you are so gloomy and in such a bad mood today. or rather why your eyes so fearfully evade mine.

Today it is not the Devil, but rather a famous actor, a popular clergyman or a well-known doctor, who disturbs the calm of the night.

So, you would rather dress as a man than attend Mass?

We had an argument that night, a rather serious one, but it was my fault.

I'd rather shoot Mrs. Rittenhouse.

I'd rather not hear it.

I'd rather die like a dog than lead this life another day.

Yi Ryeong's manager? Hey, Dog Manners. Move to a place filled with ahjussis rather than the Diplomatic Service.

And as for the justification the Yashioka's teachers and students are using here wouldn't that rather make you the laughingstock of the world?

I prefer going to prison as a debtor, rather than let my wife starve.

I would rather go on the streets As long as I could get out of this hell.

Tore was afraid he would be crushed between the logs, and let go of the logs he was clinging to-- He would rather go under than be crushed by the floating logs.

Are your fathers so forgetful of their fatherland. that they would let it perish rather than you?

Thanks. I'd rather do it alone.

I'd rather be deaf than blind, wouldn't you?

It's rather a beautiful word, isn't it?

Oh, please. I'd rather not.

Yes, and I must confess that I rather suspected to find a different sort of person.

News and current affairs

Second, and more importantly, our leaders must seek to calm, rather than exploit, public anxiety.

If the EU and the US made these two commitments, the rest of the world could follow the TTIP negotiations with hope, rather than trepidation.

Rather, it increases the prospects of corrupt leakage that may allow terrorist groups access to nuclear weapons.

All too often, the fight is about turf, rather than about the most effective way to speed help to the poor.

From now on, sustainable development must not be a mere slogan, but rather an operational approach to global governance and well-being on a strained and crowded planet.

IMF accounting frameworks, rather than providing useful signals to the market, provide distorted information that exacerbates a troubled country's problems.

Science fiction sometimes limits rather than expands our sense of what is possible.

But British policy towards the EU has often led to worse rather than better relations among member states.

In fact, the evidence for a crisis of trust is rather difficult to interpret.

Donors should structure aid to ensure that it supports sound national development policies and programs, rather than their own narrow interests.

It is certainly one of the more innovative and promising ideas to emerge from a rather barren policy landscape.

China, India, and other developing nations, have a point - or rather, three points.

This year or next, China will overtake the US as the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter - on a national, rather than a per capita basis, of course.

The war in Afghanistan was never just an Afghan civil war; rather, for decades the country has been a stage of regional conflicts and hegemonic struggles.

Rather, the stubborn complexities of the situation are reduced to a stark struggle between absolute power and absolute powerlessness, the archetypal oppressor and archetypal oppressed.

Poor countries would receive prompt and predictable financing for agricultural inputs from a single account, rather than from dozens of distinct and fragmented donors.

Stranded travelers, interviewed at airports, typically said that they would rather be stuck at an airport than in a plane falling out of the sky.

The ideal alternative to both strategies is a peace process that aims not to create two states, but rather to establish the political and economic basis for a single confederal state.

In India, for example, feminists articulated to me a vision of women's equality that was family-centered rather than self-centered, and that valued service to community rather than personal gratification.

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