rather

adverb
rath·er
rä′''th''ə(r)

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

Example

“I'd rather not have spent all the money, but it really was an emergency.”

Other meanings

Used to introduce a contradiction; on the contrary.
“It wasn't supposed to be popular; rather, it was supposed to get the job done.”
Introducing a qualification or clarification; more precisely. (Now usually preceded by or.)

Synonyms

instead

Related words

ratherish
druthers
I would rather die
rather than
sooner rather than later

Example sentences

“Would you rather trade intelligence for looks or looks for intelligence?”
Tatoeba · Igider · CC0

Word history

From Old English "hraþor".

Where this comes from

This definition is adapted from “rather” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.