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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

rather.

Used to specify a choice or preference; preferably, in preference to. (Now usually followed by than)

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adv/ˈɹɑː.ðə(ɹ)/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɹæðɚ/General-American/ˈɹʌðə(ɹ)/Southern-US/ˈɹɛðəɹ/Southern-US

  1. Used to specify a choice or preference; preferably, in preference to. (Now usually followed by than)

    not-comparable
    I'd rather not have spent all the money, but it really was an emergency.
    I would like this one rather than the other one.

  2. Used to introduce a contradiction; on the contrary.

    conjunctive · not-comparable
    It wasn't supposed to be popular; rather, it was supposed to get the job done.
    She didn't go along, but rather went home instead.

  3. Introducing a qualification or clarification; more precisely. (Now usually preceded by or.)

    conjunctive · not-comparable
    I didn't want to leave. Or rather I did, just not alone.

  4. Somewhat, quite; to an unexpected degree.

    not-comparable
    It's been rather/quite a good meal overall, but this melon is rather too tasteless.
    We had some rather worse news today.

  5. More quickly.

    not-comparable · obsolete
Where this word comes from

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.

adj/ˈɹɑː.ðə(ɹ)/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɹæðɚ/General-American/ˈɹʌðə(ɹ)/Southern-US/ˈɹɛðəɹ/Southern-US

  1. Prior; earlier; former.

    not-comparable · obsolete
Where this word comes from

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.

intj/ˈɹɑː.ðə(ɹ)/Received-Pronunciation/ˌɹɑːˈðɜː(ɹ)/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɹæðɚ/General-American/ˈɹʌðə(ɹ)/Southern-US

  1. An enthusiastic affirmation.

    England · dated
    Would you like some? –Rather!
Where this word comes from

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.

noun/ˈɹɑː.ðə(ɹ)/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɹæðɚ/General-American/ˈɹʌðə(ɹ)/Southern-US/ˈɹɛðəɹ/Southern-US

  1. A choice or a preference.

    dated · informal · uncommon
Where this word comes from

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.

verb/ˈɹɑː.ðə(ɹ)/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɹæðɚ/General-American/ˈɹʌðə(ɹ)/Southern-US/ˈɹɛðəɹ/Southern-US

  1. To prefer; to prefer to.

    dialectal · nonstandard
    You'd rather us dead.
Where this word comes from

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.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.