had rather

had rath·er

H h

Definitions of had rather words

adverb had rather in a measure; to a certain extent; somewhat: rather good. 1
adverb had rather in some degree: I rather thought you would regret it. 1
adverb had rather more properly or justly; with better reason: The contrary is rather to be supposed. 1
adverb had rather sooner; more readily or willingly: to die rather than yield. 1
adverb had rather more properly or correctly speaking; more truly: He is a painter or, rather, a watercolorist. 1
adverb had rather on the contrary: It's not generosity, rather self-interest. 1

before 900

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 900; Middle English; Old English hrathor, comparative of hræth quick, rathe

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 99% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer