Usually means: Preferably; more accurately; to some extent.
Definitions Related words Phrases (New!) Mentions Lyrics History
We found 27 dictionaries that define the word rather:

General (25 matching dictionaries)
  1. rather, the rather: Merriam-Webster.com
  2. rather, rather: Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
  3. rather: American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
  4. rather: Collins English Dictionary
  5. rather: Vocabulary.com
  6. Rather, rather, the rather: Wordnik
  7. rather: Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
  8. Rather, rather: Wiktionary
  9. rather: Webster's New World College Dictionary, 4th Ed.
  10. rather: The Wordsmyth English Dictionary-Thesaurus
  11. rather: Infoplease Dictionary
  12. Rather, The rather, rather: Dictionary.com
  13. rather: Online Etymology Dictionary
  14. rather: Cambridge Essential American English Dictionary
  15. Rather: Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
  16. Rather: Online Plain Text English Dictionary
  17. rather: Webster's Revised Unabridged, 1913 Edition
  18. rather: Rhymezone
  19. rather: AllWords.com Multi-Lingual Dictionary
  20. rather: Webster's 1828 Dictionary
  21. rather, the rather: Free Dictionary
  22. rather: Mnemonic Dictionary
  23. The rather, rather: Dictionary/thesaurus

Miscellaneous (1 matching dictionary)
  1. rather: Idioms

Slang (1 matching dictionary)
  1. rather: Urban Dictionary

(Note: See rathers as well.)

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Definitions from Wiktionary (
)
American English Definition British English Definition
▸ adverb:  Used to specify a choice or preference; preferably, in preference to. (Now usually followed by than)
▸ adverb:  (conjunctive) Used to introduce a contradiction; on the contrary.
▸ adverb:  (conjunctive) Introducing a qualification or clarification; more precisely. (Now usually preceded by or.)
▸ adverb:  (degree) Somewhat, quite; to an unexpected degree.
▸ adverb:  (obsolete) More quickly.
▸ adjective:  (obsolete) Prior; earlier; former.
▸ noun:  (informal, dated, uncommon) A choice or a preference.
▸ verb:  (nonstandard or dialectal) To prefer; to prefer to.
▸ noun:  A surname.

Similar:
kind of, quite, kinda, sort of, sooner, preferably, instead, somewhat, fairly, decidedly, more...

Opposite:
seldom, rarely, infrequently, scarcely, hardly

Phrases:
rather than, would rather, the rather, had rather, Dan Rather, more...

Adjectives:
hereditary, worse, wise, other, cbs, dark, good, many, vain, own, large


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Similar:
kind of, quite, kinda, sort of, sooner, preferably, instead, somewhat, fairly, decidedly, more...

Opposite:
seldom, rarely, infrequently, scarcely, hardly

Phrases:
rather than, would rather, the rather, had rather, Dan Rather, rather dan, Rather You Than Me, Rather Be, I'd Rather Go Blind, Rather Ripped, Would you rather, I would rather cry in a BMW, more...

Adjectives:
hereditary, worse, wise, other, cbs, dark, good, many, vain, own, large



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