rather

Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).

Synonyms: gather, father, lather, rathe, rother, eather, rater, ratner, rathel, rasher, bather

Antonyms: gather, father, lather, rathe, rother, eather, rater, ratner, rathel, rasher, bather

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Adverb

1. {{ng|Used to specify a [[choice]] or [[preference]]}}; [[preferably]], in preference to. (Now usually followed by '''[[than]]''') {{defdate|from 9th c.}}
2. {{senseid|en|on the contrary}}{{lb|en|conjunctive}} {{ng|Used to introduce a [[contradiction]]}}; [[on the contrary]]. {{defdate|from 14th c.}}
3. {{lb|en|conjunctive}} {{ng|Introducing a [[qualification]] or [[clarification]]}}; more [[precisely]]. (Now usually preceded by '''[[or]]'''.) {{defdate|from 15th c.}}
4. {{lb|en|degree}} [[somewhat|Somewhat]], [[quite]]; to an [[unexpected]] degree. {{defdate|from 16th c.}}
5. {{lb|en|obsolete}} More quickly. {{defdate|9th|19th c.}}

Adjective

1. {{lb|en|obsolete}} Prior; earlier; former.

Interjection

1. {{lb|en|England|dated}} {{non-gloss|An enthusiastic affirmation.}}

Noun

1. {{lb|en|informal|dated|uncommon}} A [[choice]] or a [[preference]].

Verb

1. {{lb|en|nonstandard|or|dialectal}} To [[prefer]]; to prefer to.

Proper noun

1. {{surname|en}}.

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.