Learn English – Usage and meaning of the word “Rather”

word-meaningword-usage

"It's rather cold outside"

I've recently heard this expression in a movie, but I didn't get the meaning of it. I've searched it on the Internet and found that different sites explained its meaning in different ways. I am a little bit confused what the speaker is trying to say using the word "rather"

It could be

"it is a little bit cold outside"

or

"it is too cold outside"

I think that it mainly depends on the situation when the speaker uses this word. Therefore, I would like to ask what are most common ways of using the word "rather".

Best Answer

This is a very commonly used word to express emphasis on the subject of conversation.

It is rather cold outside.

This simply means that it is 'fairly' cold outside.

This means that to a certain degree or extent, as per the speaker, it is cold outside. It neither means it is "a little bit" or "too" cold outside. From the speaker's perspective, it is cold. To what extent? That depends on the speaker.

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