1
as in preferably
by choice or preference
I would rather go to the movies than stay at home
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in instead
as a substitute
don't think of the placement test as torture but rather as a chance to show off how much you know
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in pretty
to some degree or extent
I say, don't you think that's rather expensive for a hamburger?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rather
From planning your trip to navigating the complex world of credit card points and travel rewards, the journey to your happy place can quickly become rather stressful.
—
Abc News, ABC News, 6 Feb. 2025
However, the comedy overall is rather middling and doesn’t quite jump off the screen.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 6 Feb. 2025
Note that this does not connect to a VPN server but rather provides a means for filtering all web traffic.
—PCMAG, 3 Feb. 2025
The freeze on these cases isn't to scrap student debt forgiveness altogether, but rather to take a 'wait-and-see' approach to how the new administration wants to reshape the programs put in place from the one that preceded them.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 25 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for rather 
Abc News, ABC News, 6 Feb. 2025
However, the comedy overall is rather middling and doesn’t quite jump off the screen.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 6 Feb. 2025
Note that this does not connect to a VPN server but rather provides a means for filtering all web traffic.
—PCMAG, 3 Feb. 2025
The freeze on these cases isn't to scrap student debt forgiveness altogether, but rather to take a 'wait-and-see' approach to how the new administration wants to reshape the programs put in place from the one that preceded them.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 25 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for rather
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rather
Adverb
-
Build it in one of your Cities — preferably in one with high Production — and then complete the Operation Ivy Project to cement your supremacy with the threat of nuclear destruction.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
6 Feb. 2025
-
Stovetop method: Fill a large (at least 6-qt.) stockpot with 12 cups of water (preferably filtered).—
Alexis deBoschnek,
Bon Appétit,
5 Feb. 2025
Adverb
-
But at the end of the 2020 season, Honda decided to exit the sport again, which was justified at the time as necessary so that the company could focus those resources on alternative powertrains instead.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
11 Feb. 2025
-
Whose pursuit of pleasure, readily available to the narcissistic travelers via the luxury hotel’s ample amenities, will instead conclude with pain’s ultimate resting place?—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
11 Feb. 2025
Adverb
-
One day, a player is going to get caught out and look pretty silly, but the embarrassment/flex risk/reward assessment is clearly judged worthwhile enough to keep doing it.—
Nick Miller,
The Athletic,
3 Feb. 2025
-
The briny air, craggy cliffs and crashing waves are good for whatever ails you – which in 2025 is pretty much everything everywhere all at once.—
John Metcalfe,
The Mercury News,
3 Feb. 2025
Adverb
-
The world has shifted off its axis since that relatively halcyon time when identity politics, the subject of FastHorse’s farce, could be debated, mocked, ranted over and defended without fear of governmental reprisal.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2025
-
Opponents, including lawmakers from both parties, have criticized the film tax credits — a $1.5 billion benefit to the industry over the last two decades — as an unfair handout to relatively small slice of the state’s economy.—
John Moritz,
Hartford Courant,
7 Feb. 2025
Adverb
-
Book soon, past events have filled up with thousands of visitors.—
Anna Spiegel,
Axios,
11 Feb. 2025
-
They could soon be joined by tens of thousands of Syrians forcibly deported by neighboring countries that may use Assad’s departure as a pretext to expel them.—
Jesse Marks,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Feb. 2025
Adverb
-
Newcastle acted and if Gordon did not quite have the immediate impact some anticipated, just look at him now.—
George Caulkin,
The Athletic,
3 Feb. 2025
-
From the distant past in which no one quite knew what to make of the game to the present where no one can get enough of it, one thing has stayed a constant: Bell, the Pro Football Hall of Famer and Kansas City treasure, has been to every one of them.—
Vahe Gregorian,
Kansas City Star,
3 Feb. 2025
Adverb
-
This product is sold online and at a fairly large number of drug stores, craft stores and big box stores.—
BestReviews,
The Mercury News,
6 Feb. 2025
-
Those with cybersecurity experience or with security clearances, for instance, would probably get scooped up fairly quickly.—
Tami Luhby,
CNN,
6 Feb. 2025
Adverb
-
Although the Justice Department, the FBI, and the IRS remained somewhat politicized through the 1970s, a series of post-Watergate reforms effectively ended partisan weaponization of these institutions.—
STEVEN LEVITSKY,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Feb. 2025
-
That rebounded somewhat after the stage version of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child proved to be a post-pandemic crowd pleaser.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near rather
Cite this Entry
“Rather.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rather. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
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