How to Use rather in a Sentence
rather
adverb
- The movie is a comedy, but rather a dull one.
- It rather annoyed me that he was late picking me up.
- I think the children watch rather too much television.
-
The celebs of the 2024 Met Gala walked the red, or rather, green and white carpet.
—
Naledi Ushe,
USA TODAY,
7 May 2024
-
Not the dingy kind of dim, rather the cozy kind that invites you to sit down and stay a while.
—
Philip Freeman,
Charlotte Observer,
24 Apr. 2024
-
Well, maybe not the box itself, but rather what was inside the box.
—
Ainslie Lee | Alee@al.com,
al,
15 Sep. 2023
-
Placed next to the competition, the Z Fold 5 is rather chunky.
—
Ewan Spence,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2024
-
At first, the look and feel will be rather stiff and simplistic.
—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
29 Dec. 2022
-
And the tone for the game was set — or rather, wasn’t established at all — by the end of the opening frame.
—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2023
-
Images came through of the two black holes—or, rather, of the ring of stuff falling into the black holes.
—
Rivka Galchen,
The New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2024
-
Also rather unusual: a great view of much of the snow stripe.
—
Ian Livingston,
Washington Post,
17 Jan. 2024
-
Mostly clear Friday night and rather mild with lows in the upper 50s to mid-60s.
—
Dan Stillman,
Washington Post,
31 May 2023
-
In fact, that's taking a rather narrow view of the city, says Curtis.
—
Alex Schechter,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Mar. 2023
-
Hydration—or, rather, the lack of it—has been on my mind lately.
—
Christina Pérez,
Vogue,
21 Oct. 2023
-
From there, the recipes get arbitrary and rather random.
—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
14 Nov. 2023
-
There is more space in the room and the window is open—or rather half open, revealing the green of trees outside.
—
Jenny Uglow,
The New York Review of Books,
28 Sep. 2023
-
The best part of this recipe might not even be the use of pre-shredded spuds, but rather the onion component.
—
Bonnie S. Benwick,
Charlotte Observer,
31 Jan. 2024
-
Modesty aside, some of these parties are rather nice with catered food and high-end wines.
—
R. Eric Thomas,
The Mercury News,
14 Sep. 2024
-
Thankfully the threat for severe storms will be rather low.
—
Kxas-Tv (nbc5),
Dallas News,
8 May 2023
-
William looks rather stoic in the clip, while Kate smiles eagerly.
—
Caroline Hallemann,
Town & Country,
8 May 2023
-
Other anecdotes were rather more strange — and strained.
—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Los Angeles Times,
17 July 2024
-
While the weather could play a role in this election, the forecast looks rather benign in much of the country on Nov. 5.
—
Doyle Rice,
USA TODAY,
26 Oct. 2024
-
There’s a rather surprising and very lethal threat stampeding from the south.
—
WIRED,
15 June 2023
-
Unfortunately, the end result was—rather flat, to say the least.
—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Dec. 2023
-
Here's a view of our office with some rather impressive snow mounds in the foreground.
—
Meredith Deliso,
ABC News,
31 Dec. 2022
-
Gemini May 21-June 20 Things could get rather busy throughout the day.
—
Tarot Astrologers,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Sep. 2023
-
But rather the droll sarcasm that can lighten the pressure in a tense dressing room and make a game feel like a game again.
—
Kevin Baxter,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Dec. 2023
-
Or rather, his finger—sliced off and flung in disgust at Pádraic’s doorstep.
—
Hazlitt,
17 May 2023
-
The duo may now be cousins rather college friends, and instead of the far reaches of Mongolia, their destination is a small town in southeastern Poland.
—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
5 Nov. 2024
-
Ramakrishnan pointed out that the rather small size of the shift could be because voters’ level of education ended up being a major factor in vote choice.
—
Kimmy Yam,
NBC News,
6 Nov. 2024
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rather.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Last Updated:
