adv. 稍微，有点；相当，颇；宁愿；相反地
int. 当然啦，怎么不；
1.很，颇，在很大程度上
It’s rather difficult. 它相当难。
I was rather angry at what he said. 我对他说的话相当生气。
This carpet’s getting rather old now. 这块地毯现在很旧了。
I’m afraid our team’s doing rather badly. 我看我们队的表现不太好。
We were rather tired after our long walk. 徒步走了这么远，我们都相当累了。
I feel rather well today. 我今天觉得相当好。
The new law has affected rather a lot of people. 新法律影响到了相当多的人。
2.(用于比较级之前表强调)…得多，还要更
The weather was rather worse than I had expected. 天气要比我预料的还坏。
This hotel is rather more expensive than that. 这家旅馆的收费比那家贵得多。
3.(用于too之前表强调)太：
He talks rather too much. 他说得实在太多了。
I’ve been to rather too many parties recently. 我最近参加的聚会实在太多了。
1. or rather 更确切地说
She lives in London, or rather she lives in a suburb of London. 她住在伦敦，更确切的说，是在伦敦近郊。
I explained to him how far things had got, or rather had not got. 我向他说明形势发展到何种程度，或者更确切地说向他说明形势没有发展到何种程度。
2. rather than 而不是，(不是…)而是：He ran rather than walked. 他不是在走而是在跑。
You are doing this for yourself rather than for me. 你做这件事不是为我而是为你自己。
It was what he meant rather than what he said. 这是他话里的意思，而不是他说的原话。
3. would rather...(than)… 宁愿…(而不愿)：I’d rather walk than take a bus. 我宁愿走路而不愿乘公共汽车。
He would rather have the small one than (have) the large one. 他宁愿要小的那个，而不愿要大的。
1. 修饰形容词时，通常与那些意义“消极”的形容词连用：
Frank is clever but rather lazy. 弗兰克很聪明但颇为懒惰。
若与意义“积极”的形容词连用，则通常含有“惊人地”的意思：
I did rather well in that test—better than expected. 这次考试我考得相当好——比我预料的还好。
2.有时可用于修饰动词，尤其是那些表达思想或情感的动词：
I rather like him. 我很喜欢他。
She rather enjoys doing nothing. 她挺喜欢什么事都不干。
It rather surprised me. 那事使我相当惊讶。
I rather think we’re going to lose. 我倒是认为我们要输。
We were rather hoping you could stay to supper. 我们倒是希望你留下来吃晚饭。
3.与不定冠词连用时，通常要置于不定冠词之前：
He is rather a fool. 他是个大笨蛋。
但若其后的名词带有形容词修饰语，则也可置于不定冠词之后：
That’s rather a silly question.= That’s a rather silly question. 那是个相当愚蠢的问题。
4.would rather(宁愿)的用法说明：
(1)后接动词原形，其中的 would 不可用should代换，即使是第一人称也是如此(在美国英语中，有时也说had rather，但不常见)；用于否定句时，not一般应放在rather之后，但在否定疑问句、反意疑问句以及简略答语中，可以在would之后加 not：
We’d rather not go. 我们宁愿不去。
Wouldn’t you rather live here? 你不愿住在这儿?
(2)谈论过去的情况时，后接完成式动词，意为“本要”：
I’d rather have gone to the theatre last night. 昨晚我本来要去看戏的。
We’d rather have told her the news. 我们本来是要告诉她这个消息的。
(3)后接从句时，常用虚拟语气(用过去式表示现在或将来，用过去完成时表示过去)：
I’d rather you went now (tomorrow). 我宁愿你现在(明天)去。
I’d rather he hadn’t done that. 我希望他没有做过那事。
(4)表示“宁愿(做)…而不愿(做)…”时，用would rather…than…(than之后也接动词原形，不过若与rather后的动词相同，通常省去)：
He would rather walk than take a bus. 他愿走路而不愿坐公共汽车。
She would rather have the small one than the large one. 她宁愿要小的那个，而不愿要大的。
(5)当rather用作程度副词时，可用来修饰like, enjoy, hope, appreciate等动词，所以若would rather与这些动词连用，它并不表示“宁愿”，而应把 rather 理解为“相当”：
I’d rather like the film. 我相当喜欢这部电影。
5. rather than用法说明：
(1)由于既可视为准并列连词也可视为介词，所以连接不定式时，后面一个不定式可带to或不带to(视为准并列连词时)，也可用动名词(视为介词时)：
I decided to stay at home rather than (to) go [going] to the cinema. 我宁愿呆在家里也不愿去看电影。
(2)若 rather than 位于句首，其后的不定式通常不带to(也可用动名词)：
Rather than waste [wasting] your time doing it yourself, why don’t you call in a builder? 你为什么宁愿浪费时间自己去干而不去请一个包工的呢?
Rather than use [using] the last of my cash, I decided to write a cheque. 我决定开张支票而不把现金用光。
(3)连接两个成分作主语时，其谓语动词的数通常与前面一个主语保持一致：
The teacher rather than the students is to blame. 应受责备的是老师而不是学生。
1. Rather taken aback by such forwardness, I slammed down the phone.
如此无礼的言语让我火冒三丈，我砰的一下把电话挂了。
2. The process is not a circle but rather a spiral.
这个过程不是一个圆周运动而是螺旋上升型的。
3. I gradually got rather disillusioned with the whole setup of the university.
渐渐地，我对大学的整个体制感到相当失望。
4. She was in rather a bad film about the Mau Mau.
她出演了一部关于茅茅运动（20世纪50年代肯尼亚基库尤人反抗英国殖民者的民族主义运动）的烂片。
5. I had a busy day and was rather tired.
今天很忙，我累坏了。
6. Circumstances dictated that they played a defensive rather than attacking game.
比赛形势决定了他们要打防守战而不是进攻战。