SG Heritage Dictionary

Rather [Adverb] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. But he said, yea rather happy are they that hear the word of God and keep it. Luke 11:28 ]

2. More readily or willingly; with better liking; with preference or choice.

3. My soul chooseth strangling and death rather than life. Job 7:15 .

4. Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:19 . Psalms 84:10 .

5. In preference; preferably; with better reason. Good is rather to be chosen than evil. See Acts 5:29 .

6. In a greater degree than otherwise.

7. He sought throughout the world, but sought in vain, and no where finding, rather fear'd her slain.

8. More properly; more correctly speaking.

9. This is an art which does mend nature, change it rather; but the art itself is nature.

10. Noting some degree of contrariety in fact.

11. She was nothing better, but rather grew worse. Mark 5:26 .

12. Matthew 27:24 .

13. The rather especially; for better reason; for particular cause.

14. You are come to me in a happy time, the rather for I have some sport in hand.

15. Had rather is supposed to be a corruption of would rather

16. I had rather speak five words with my understanding - 1 Corinthians 14:19 . This phrase may have been originally, 'I'd rather ' for I would rather and the contraction afterwards mistaken for had. Correct speakers and writers generally use would in all such phrases; I would rather I prefer; I desire in preference.

Rather [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. Prior; earlier; former.

2. Earlier; sooner; before.

3. More readily or willingly; preferably.

4. On the other hand; to the contrary of what was said or suggested; instead.

5. Of two alternatives conceived of, this by preference to, or as more likely than, the other; somewhat.

6. More properly; more correctly speaking.

7. In some degree; somewhat; as, the day is rather warm; the house is rather damp.

Choice Roget’s Thesaurus §609

N. choice, option, discretion, preoption, alternative, dilemma, embarras de choix, adoption, cooptation, novation, decision, election, political election (politics) 737a, selection, excerption, gleaning, eclecticism, excerpta, gleanings, cuttings, scissors and paste, pick, preference, prelation, opinion poll, survey, predilection

V. offers one's choice, set before, hold out the alternative, present the alternative, offer the alternative, put to the vote, use option, use discretion, exercise option, exercise discretion, one's option, adopt, take up, embrace, espouse, choose, elect, opt for, take one's choice, make one's choice, make choice of, fix upon, vote, poll, hold up one's hand, divide, settle, decide, list, make up one's mind, select, pick and choose, pick out, single out, cull, glean, winnow, sift the chaff from the wheat, separate the chaff from the wheat, winnow the chaff from the wheat, pick up, pitch upon, pick one's way, indulge one's fancy, set apart, mark out for, mark, prefer, have rather, have as lief, fancy, be persuaded, take a decided step, take a decisive step, commit oneself to a course, pass the rubicon, cross the rubicon, cast in one's lot with, take for better or for worse

Adj. optional, discretional, eclectic, choosing, preferential, chosen, choice

Adv. optionally, at pleasure, either the one or the other, or at the option of, whether or not, once and for all, for one's money, by choice, by preference, in preference, rather, before

Unimportance Roget’s Thesaurus §643

N. unimportance, insignificance, nothingness, immateriality, triviality, levity, frivolity, paltriness, poverty, smallness, vanity, matter of indifference, no object, nothing, nothing to signify, nothing worth speaking of, nothing particular, nothing to boast of, nothing to speak of, small matter, no great matter, trifling matter, mere joke, mere nothing, hardly anything, scarcely anything, nonentity, small beer, cipher, no great shakes, peu de chose, child's play, kinderspiel, toy, plaything, popgun, paper pellet, gimcrack, gewgaw, bauble, trinket, bagatelle, rickshaw, knickknack, whim-wham, trifle, "trifles light as air", yankee notions, trumpery, trash, rubbish, stuff, fatras, frippery, "leather or prunello", chaff, drug, froth bubble smoke, cobweb, weed, refuse, scum, joke, jest, snap of the fingers, fudge, fiddlestick, fiddlestick end, pack of nonsense, mere farce, straw, pin, fig, button, rush, bulrush, feather, halfpenny, farthing, brass farthing, doit, peppercorn, jot, rap, pinch of snuff, old son, cent, mill, picayune, pistareen, red cent, minutiae, details, minor details, small fry, dust in the balance, feather in the scale, drop in the ocean, flea-bite, molehill, nine days' wonder, ridiculus mus, flash in the pan, much ado about nothing

V. be unimportant, not matter, go for nothing, matter nothing, signify nothing, matter little, matter little or nothing, not matter a straw, make light of, catch at straws

Adj. unimportant, of little account, of small account, of no account, of little importance, of no importance, immaterial, unessential, nonessential, indifferent, subordinate, mediocre, passable, fair, respectable, tolerable, commonplace, uneventful, mere, common, ordinary, inconsiderable, so-so, insignificant, inappreciable, trifling, trivial, slight, slender, light, flimsy, frothy, idle, puerile, airy, shallow, weak, powerless, frivolous, petty, niggling, piddling, peddling, fribble, inane, ridiculous, farcical, finical, finikin, fiddle-faddle, fingle- fangle, namby-pamby, wishy-washy, milk and water, poor, paltry, pitiful, contemptible, sorry, mean, meager, shabby, miserable, wretched, vile, scrubby, scrannel, weedy, niggardly, scurvy, putid, beggarly, worthless, twopennyhalfpenny, cheap, trashy, catchpenny, gimcrack, trumpery, one-horse, not worth the pains, not worth while, not worth mentioning, not worth speaking of, not worth a thought, not worth a curse, not worth a straw, 1 beneath notice, unworthy of notice, beneath regard, unworthy of regard, beneath consideration, unworthy of consideration, de lana caprina, vain

Adv. slightly, rather, somewhat, pretty well, tolerably, for aught one cares

Int. no matter, pish, tush, tut, pshaw, pugh, pooh, pooh-pooh, fudge, bosh, humbug, fiddlestick, fiddlestick end, fiddlededee, never mind, n'importe, what signifies it, what boots it, what of it, what of that, what matter, what's the odds, a fig for' stuff and nonsense, stuff, nonsense, phr, magno conatu magnas nugas, le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle, it matters not, it does not signify, it is of no consequence, it is of no importance, elephantus non capit murem, tempete dans un verre d'eau

Imperfection Roget’s Thesaurus §651

N. imperfection, imperfectness, deficiency, inadequacy, peccancy, immaturity, fault, defect, weak point, screw loose, flaw, gap, twist, taint, attainder, bar sinister, hole in one's coat, blemish, weakness, half blood, shortcoming, drawback, seamy side, mediocrity, no great shakes, no great catch, not much to boast of, one-horse shay

V. be imperfect, have a defect, lie under a disadvantage, spring a leak, not pass muster, barely pass muster, fall short

Adj. imperfect, not perfect, deficient, defective, faulty, unsound, tainted, out of order, out of tune, cracked, leaky, sprung, warped, lame, injured, peccant, frail, inadequate, crude, incomplete, found wanting, below par, short- handed, below its full strength, under its full strength, below its full complement, indifferent, middling, ordinary, mediocre, average, so-so, coucicouci, milk and water, tolerable, fair, passable, pretty well, pretty good, rather good, moderately good, good, good enough, well enough, adequate, decent, not bad, not amiss, inobjectionable, unobjectionable, admissible, bearable, only better than nothing, secondary, inferior, second-rate, second-best, one-horse

Adv. almost &c, to a limited extent, rather, pretty, moderately, passing, only, considering, all things considered, enough

Phr. surgit amari aliquid

King James Bible KJV Bible

Berean Standard Bible BSB Bible

74 KJV and 47 BSB verses contain “Rather” — showing the first 20. Show all 102 verses (searchable)

Genesis 27:12

My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.

What if my father touches me? Then I would be revealed to him as a deceiver, and I would bring upon myself a curse rather than a blessing.”

Exodus 34:13

But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:

Rather, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and chop down their Asherah poles.

Deuteronomy 9:4

Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.

When the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say in your heart, “Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land.” Rather, the LORD is driving out these nations before you because of their wickedness.

Joshua 22:24

And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel?

But in fact we have done this for fear that in the future your descendants might say to ours, ‘What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?

Joshua 22:27

But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD.

Rather, let it be a witness between us and you and the generations to come, that we will worship the LORD in His presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings.’ Then in the future, your descendants cannot say to ours, ‘You have no share in the LORD!’

Judges 6:27

Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city, he did it by night rather than in the daytime.

Ruth 2:16

And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.

Rather, pull out for her some stalks from the bundles and leave them for her to gather. Do not rebuke her.”

2 Samuel 10:3

And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?

the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, “Just because David has sent you comforters, do you really believe he is showing respect for your father? Has not David instead sent his servants to explore the city, spy it out, and overthrow it?”

2 Kings 5:13

And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

Naaman’s servants, however, approached him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’?”

2 Chronicles 17:4

But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.

but he sought the God of his father and walked by His commandments rather than the practices of Israel.

2 Chronicles 28:20

And Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not.

Then Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came to Ahaz but afflicted him rather than strengthening him.

Job 7:15

So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life.

so that I would prefer strangling and death over my life in this body.

Job 32:2

Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.

This kindled the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. He burned with anger against Job for justifying himself rather than God,

Job 36:21

Take heed, regard not iniquity: for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.

Be careful not to turn to iniquity, for this you have preferred to affliction.

Psalms 52:3

Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.

You love evil more than good, falsehood more than speaking truth. Selah

Psalms 84:10

For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Proverbs 8:10

Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.

Receive my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold.

Proverbs 16:16

How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!

How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To gain understanding is more desirable than silver.

Proverbs 17:12

Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.

It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.

Proverbs 22:1

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

A good name is more desirable than great riches; favor is better than silver and gold.