VocabauraVOCABAURA

rather

adverb

Form of rath , comparative of rath.

Simple meaning

Used to specify a choice or preference.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

rather

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɹæðɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adverb

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

  2. degree

    Somewhat, quite; to an unexpected degree.

  3. conjunctive

    Used to introduce a contradiction; on the contrary.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

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

Used this way, rather is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use rather

  • “Rather than disappoint the children, he did two quick tricks before he left.”adverb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Great

rather largerather small

Prefer

rather like

Other combinations

rather different

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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: used to specify a choice or preference

preferably

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.