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(r"r), a.[Compar. of Rath, a.] Prior; earlier; former. [Obs.] Now no man dwelleth at the rather town. Sir J. Mandeville. Rath"er (r"r; 277), adv.[AS. hraor, compar. of hrae, hre, quickly, immediately. See Rath, a.] 1. Earlier; sooner; before. [Obs.] Thou shalt, quod he, be rather false than I. Chaucer. A good mean to come the rather to grace. Foxe. 2. More readily or willingly; preferably. My soul chooseth . . . death rather than my life. Job vii. 15. 3. On the other hand; to the contrary of what was said or suggested; instead. Was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse. Mark v. 26. 4. Of two alternatives conceived of, this by preference to, or as more likely than, the other; somewhat. He sought throughout the world, but sought in vain, And nowhere finding, rather feared her slain. Dryden. 5. More properly; more correctly speaking. This is an art Which does mend nature, change it rather, but The art itself is nature. Shak. 6. In some degree; somewhat; as, the day is rather warm; the house is rather damp. The rather, the more so; especially; for better reason; for particular cause. You ar スポンサード リンク
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