How to Use rather in a Sentence

rather

adverb
  • The movie is a comedy, but rather a dull one.
  • It rather annoyed me that he was late picking me up.
  • I think the children watch rather too much television.
  • Well, it’s that time of the year — the end of the year, rather.
    Shelton Boyd-Griffith, Essence, 27 Dec. 2022
  • The celebs of the 2024 Met Gala walked the red, or rather, green and white carpet.
    Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY, 7 May 2024
  • Not the dingy kind of dim, rather the cozy kind that invites you to sit down and stay a while.
    Philip Freeman, Charlotte Observer, 24 Apr. 2024
  • Well, maybe not the box itself, but rather what was inside the box.
    Ainslie Lee | Alee@al.com, al, 15 Sep. 2023
  • Placed next to the competition, the Z Fold 5 is rather chunky.
    Ewan Spence, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024
  • At first, the look and feel will be rather stiff and simplistic.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes, 29 Dec. 2022
  • And the tone for the game was set — or rather, wasn’t established at all — by the end of the opening frame.
    Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2023
  • Images came through of the two black holes—or, rather, of the ring of stuff falling into the black holes.
    Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2024
  • Also rather unusual: a great view of much of the snow stripe.
    Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 17 Jan. 2024
  • Mostly clear Friday night and rather mild with lows in the upper 50s to mid-60s.
    Dan Stillman, Washington Post, 31 May 2023
  • Ryan and Robert Saleh had their beef a few years ago but squashed it rather quickly.
    Ryan Morik, Fox News, 19 Nov. 2024
  • In fact, that's taking a rather narrow view of the city, says Curtis.
    Alex Schechter, Travel + Leisure, 29 Mar. 2023
  • Hydration—or, rather, the lack of it—has been on my mind lately.
    Christina Pérez, Vogue, 21 Oct. 2023
  • From there, the recipes get arbitrary and rather random.
    Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 14 Nov. 2023
  • There is more space in the room and the window is open—or rather half open, revealing the green of trees outside.
    Jenny Uglow, The New York Review of Books, 28 Sep. 2023
  • The best part of this recipe might not even be the use of pre-shredded spuds, but rather the onion component.
    Bonnie S. Benwick, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
  • Modesty aside, some of these parties are rather nice with catered food and high-end wines.
    R. Eric Thomas, The Mercury News, 14 Sep. 2024
  • Thankfully the threat for severe storms will be rather low.
    Kxas-Tv (nbc5), Dallas News, 8 May 2023
  • William looks rather stoic in the clip, while Kate smiles eagerly.
    Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, 8 May 2023
  • Other anecdotes were rather more strange — and strained.
    Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 17 July 2024
  • While the weather could play a role in this election, the forecast looks rather benign in much of the country on Nov. 5.
    Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 26 Oct. 2024
  • There’s a rather surprising and very lethal threat stampeding from the south.
    WIRED, 15 June 2023
  • Unfortunately, the end result was—rather flat, to say the least.
    Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Dec. 2023
  • Here's a view of our office with some rather impressive snow mounds in the foreground.
    Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 31 Dec. 2022
  • Gemini May 21-June 20 Things could get rather busy throughout the day.
    Tarot Astrologers, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2023
  • The Obama girls, on the other hand, fared rather well, especially Sasha, who designed her own two-room suite with a living space and a bedroom.
    Joyce Chen, Architectural Digest, 13 Dec. 2024
  • As fans know, characters like Tashi from Challengers and Rue from Euphoria are rather intense.
    Stephan Pechdimaldji, Newsweek, 13 Dec. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rather.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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