Rather Meaning
/ˈɹɑː.ðə(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
advUsed to specify a choice or preference; preferably, in preference to. (Now usually followed by than)
advUsed to introduce a contradiction; on the contrary.
Sentence Examples
That is rather unexpected.
More people get into trouble for things they say rather than for what they do.
Many children would rather go online than watch television.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
After working for twelve hours straight, I would ____ relax than go to the gym.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She would ____ spend the evening reading than go to a party where she knew no one.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English rather, from Old English hraþor, comparative of hraþe (“soon, early, fast”). More at rathe. Cognate with Dutch radder (“faster”), comparative of Dutch rad (“fast; quick”), German Low German radd, ratt (“rashly; quickly; hastily”), German gerade (“even; straight; direct”). By surface analysis, rathe + -er.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Firstly, I continue to base most species treatments on personally collected material, rather than on herbarium plants."
— 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:
"I'd rather dance with you than talk with you / So why don't we just move into the other room"
— 2004, Erlend Øye, Eirik Glambek Bøe, “I'd Rather Dance with You”, performed by Kings of Convenience:
"Are the characteristics that are ascribed to lingua franca communication general lingua franca features? Or are they rather properties of the lingua franca that is presently most frequently used in this function – English?"
— 2022, Sabine Fiedler, Cyril Robert Brosch, “The aim of this book” (chapter 4), in Esperanto – Lingua Franca and Language Community, John Benjamins Publishing Company, →DOI, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL, page 19:
"What the pupil already knew was indeed rather taken for granted than expressed, but it performed the useful function of transcending all textbooks, and supplanting all studies."
— 1897 October 16, Henry James, chapter IX, in What Maisie Knew, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Herbert S. Stone & Co., →OCLC, page 94:
"All this was extraordinarily distasteful to Churchill.[…]Never before had he felt such repulsion when the vicar displayed his characteristic bluntness or coarseness of speech. In the present connection—or rather as a transition from the subject that had started their conversation—such talk had been distressingly out of place."
— 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXIV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, pages 198–199:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After working for twelve hours straight, I would ____ relax than go to the gym.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She would ____ spend the evening reading than go to a party where she knew no one.