A2verb · intransitive · frequent

rather

rath·er

rather · rathers · rathered · rathering

To prefer; to prefer toTo prefer; to prefer to.

ⓘⓘ

UK/ˈɹɑː.ðə(ɹ)/US/ˈɹæðɚ/

» I would rather stay at home.

Ich würde lieber zu Hause bleiben. — Pfirsichbaeumchen

Я би краще залишився вдома. — deniko

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Meaning

1 senses

(dialectal, nonstandard)To prefer; to prefer to.
You'd rather us dead.

Examples

2396 sentences

I would rather stay at home.
Я би краще залишився вдома. — deniko
deIch würde lieber zu Hause bleiben. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
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I've got some rather serious news.
У мене є досить серйозні новини. — deniko
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He is rather hard to please.
Йому досить складно догодити. — deniko
ruЕму довольно трудно угодить. — Biga
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I'd rather go today than tomorrow.
Я краще піду сьогодні, ніж завтра. — deniko
ruЯ предпочел бы пойти сегодня, а не завтра. — sharptoothed
deIch möchte eher heute als morgen gehen. — xtofu80
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Tom is rather rich, isn't he?
Том доволі багатий, еге ж? — deniko
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Origin

From Middle English rather, from Old English hraþor, comparative of hraþe (“soon, early, f

From Middle English rather, from Old English hraþor, comparative of hraþe (“soon, early, fast”). More at rathe. Cognate with Dutch radder (“faster”), comparative of Dutch rad (“fast; quick”), German Low German radd, ratt (“rashly; quickly; hastily”), German gerade (“even; straight; direct”). By surface analysis, rathe + -er.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

rathers, rathering, rathered, rathered

Base form	rather · to rather
3rd person singular	rathers
Present participle	rathering
Past simple	rathered
Past participle	rathered

regular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, they	rather
he, she, it	rathers

Past simpleLesson

all persons

rathered

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, they	have rathered
he, she, it	has rathered

Future simple (will)Lesson

all persons

will rather

Lessons for this word

3 lessons

C1Hedging and register — Because the lesson uses it
A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form

Collocations

12 patterns

rather stay
rather not go
rather not do
rather die than
rather stay home
rather stay here
rather stay at
rather do that
would rather stay
rather live in
rather not eat
rather die