What does rather mean?
Definitions for rather
ˈræð ər, ˈrɑ ðərrather
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word rather.
Princeton's WordNet
rather, insteadadverb
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"
rather, kind of, kinda, sort ofadverb
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"
preferably, sooner, ratheradverb
more readily or willingly
"clean it well, preferably with warm water"; "I'd rather be in Philadelphia"; "I'd sooner die than give up"
quite, ratheradverb
to a degree (not used with a negative)
"quite tasty"; "quite soon"; "quite ill"; "quite rich"
Wiktionary
ratherverb
To prefer; to prefer to.
ratheradverb
More quickly; sooner, earlier.
ratheradverb
Used to specify a choice or preference; preferably.
ratheradverb
Used to introduce a contradiction; on the contrary.
ratheradverb
Introducing a qualification or clarification; more precisely. (Now usually preceded by or.)
ratheradverb
Somewhat, fairly.
Etymology: From rather, rether, from hraþor, comparative of hraþe, equivalent to. More at rathe.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Ratheradverb
Now out of use.
Etymology: this is a comparative from rath; rað , Saxon, soon.
Almighty God desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live. Common Prayer.
’Tis rather to be thought, that an heir had no such right by divine institution, than that God should give such a right, but yet leave it undeterminate who such heir is. John Locke.
He sought through the world, but sought in vain,
And no where finding, rather fear’d her slain. Dryden.This is an art,
Which does mend nature, change it rather, but
The art itself is nature. William Shakespeare, Winter’s Tale.You are come to me in a happy time,
The rather for I have some sport in hand. William Shakespeare.’Tis with reluctancy he is provoked by our impenitence to apply the discipline of severity and correction; he had rather mankind should adore him as their patron and benefactor. John Rogers, Sermons.
ChatGPT
rather
Rather can be used as an adverb to mean "more willingly" or "to a higher degree" in comparison to something else. It can also be used to express preference or choice, indicating a preference for one option over another. Additionally, it can be used to indicate hesitation or doubt in a statement or to introduce a contrasting or unexpected idea.
Webster Dictionary
Ratheradjective
prior; earlier; former
Ratheradjective
earlier; sooner; before
Ratheradjective
more readily or willingly; preferably
Ratheradjective
on the other hand; to the contrary of what was said or suggested; instead
Ratheradjective
of two alternatives conceived of, this by preference to, or as more likely than, the other; somewhat
Ratheradjective
more properly; more correctly speaking
Ratheradjective
in some degree; somewhat; as, the day is rather warm; the house is rather damp
Etymology: [Compar. of Rath, a.]
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Rather
räth′ėr, adv. more willingly: in preference: especially: more so than otherwise: on the contrary: somewhat, in some degree: more properly: (coll.) considerably, very much.—adj. Rath′erish, to a slight degree, somewhat.—Rather better than, somewhat in excess of.—The rather, by so much the more. [A.S. hrathor, comp. of hrathe, early.]
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
RATHER
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Rather is ranked #15309 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Rather surname appeared 1,917 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Rather.
72.4% or 1,388 total occurrences were White.
17.5% or 336 total occurrences were Black.
4.6% or 89 total occurrences were Asian.
2.8% or 55 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
2.2% or 43 total occurrences were of two or more races.
0.3% or 6 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'rather' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #444
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'rather' in Written Corpus Frequency: #442
Adverbs Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'rather' in Adverbs Frequency: #61
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of rather in Chaldean Numerology is: 1
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of rather in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7
Examples of rather in a Sentence
Too often, the lines of freedom of speech are very deliberately being tested, and taboos are carelessly being breached and used as a political instrument, it's not banter, rather it's playing with fire. Because whoever sows violence with words, risks reaping violence.
We were not aware that the power of the antennas in the United States [ has ] been doubled compared to what's going on elsewhere. We were not aware that the antenna themselves have been put into a vertical position rather than a slight slanting position, so on that basis we took that decision late last night to suspend all our services until we had clarity.
The alternative to rejecting a mission with the Americans is not to do nothing - I see that (view) among many people, unfortunately also in the SPD - but rather the alternative is a European mission, if necessary without the British, if they decide for the U.S..
A total this high is a striking warning — and it must have come from big institutional investors, not just retail shareholders — that Apple's human rights policy in China has become a material risk for the company's reputation, apple will be under great pressure to respond rather than ignore this vote.
But the policies pursued over the past year seem deliberately designed to remove basic protections from the poorest, punish those who are not in employment and make even basic health care into a privilege to be earned rather than a right of citizenship.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for rather
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- بالأحرىArabic
- повече, скоро, достаBulgarian
- preferiblement, força, bastantCatalan, Valencian
- spíše, spíš, radějiCzech
- eithaf, mwy, yn hytrachWelsh
- eher, lieber, ziemlichGerman
- μάλλονGreek
- pli ĝusteEsperanto
- más bien, algo, bastante, preferiblementeSpanish
- ennemEstonian
- بلکهPersian
- pikemminkin, tarkemmin sanottuna, mieluummin, vaan, aika, melkoFinnish
- nokkso, rættiligaFaroese
- plutôtFrench
- preferibilmente, meglio, piuttosto, abbastanzaItalian
- אלאHebrew
- 寧ろ, 一層, むしろ, かなりJapanese
- potiusLatin
- gluži, diezganLatvian
- nogal, meer, liever, eerderDutch
- ganske, fortrinnsvis, heller, nokså, temmeligNorwegian
- bastante, preferivelmente, um tanto, de preferência, bem, meioPortuguese
- лучше, скорее, довольноRussian
- rätt, helst, ganska, hellreSwedish
- швидшеUkrainian
- بلکہUrdu
- ליבערשטYiddish
- 宁可Chinese
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