ranted; ranting; rants
: to utter in a bombastic declamatory fashion
ranter
noun
1
a
: a bombastic extravagant speech
b
: bombastic extravagant language
2
dialectal British
: a rousing good time
Synonyms
Examples of rant in a Sentence
Verb
“You can rant and rave all you want,” she said, “but it's not going to change things.”
He ranted that they were out to get him.
Noun
after complaining about the hotel's lousy service, the woman went off on another rant about the condition of her room
instead of addressing the current crisis, the mayor's speech was a lot of rant emphasizing his accomplishments
Recent Examples on the Web
Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2023
Bowers, from suburban Baldwin, ranted about Jews online before carrying out the attack at Tree of Life, in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community, on Oct. 27, 2018.
—Peter Smith and Michael Rubinkam, Chicago Tribune, 3 Aug. 2023
Just last month, a UAE resident of Arab nationality was sentenced to five years in prison and a $136,000 fine for violating hate-speech laws by posting a video ranting against men and domestic workers.
—Time, 13 July 2023
Gil Tyree inspired students:Including Charles Barkley Ben Shapiro ranted against 'Barbie,' then set dolls on fire
Though not without some effort.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 28 July 2023
The 1975’s Good Vibes set was cut short after Healy, who has long been outspoken about LGBTQ rights, ranted about Malaysia’s restrictive laws banning homosexuality.
—Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 23 July 2023
This was made much worse when the neighbor ranted about this on Facebook.
—Amy Dickinson, oregonlive, 8 July 2023
Raisi first visited Venezuela, where he was photographed with President Nicolas Maduro and ranted about the crippling sanctions both countries suffer at the hands of the United States.
—Peter Aitken, Fox News, 15 June 2023
Redd wanted to rant, but Mack was gone, and Barbara as well, so there was no one around to rant to.
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 6 June 2023
Martin Scorsese, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2023
Before she was sentenced, St Cyr went on a rambling and odd 45-minute rant in the courtroom that covered a series of unrelated topics.
—Timothy Bella, Washington Post, 14 Sep. 2023
Mayor Eric Adams explained it Wednesday night in a rant for the ages.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 7 Sep. 2023
The victims of Saturday’s rampage, killed by a gunman who left behind a sprawling series of rants full of racial hate, were all ordinary people balancing their own challenges and aspirations.
—Anna Betts, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2023
There were rants against the LGBTQ+ community, posts about political correctness as well as anti-police content.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 22 Aug. 2023
Speaking up is potentially fraught, as going in with a bombastic rant would likely compound your problems.
—Tarot Astrologers, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2023
This sort of thing—a rant, about tech industry types at Burning Man, posted on a social media site, then shared on other social media sites—is essentially the rub, the irony of Burning Man in 2023.
—Angela Watercutter, WIRED, 5 Sep. 2023
But the extra-inning win in Milwaukee on the Fourth of July, which ended with manager David Ross’s profane postgame rant about the closing of the roof at American Family Field, was probably as good a place as any to start.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2023
See More
Verb
But don’t expect the civilized philosophical dialogues found in Plato or George Bernard Shaw: Dostoevsky typically opts for theatrically over-the-top excess — his people rant and weep one moment, then bow and kiss the next, sometimes even kneel abjectly before one another.
—Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2023
Bowers, from suburban Baldwin, ranted about Jews online before carrying out the attack at Tree of Life, in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community, on Oct. 27, 2018.
—Peter Smith and Michael Rubinkam, Chicago Tribune, 3 Aug. 2023
Just last month, a UAE resident of Arab nationality was sentenced to five years in prison and a $136,000 fine for violating hate-speech laws by posting a video ranting against men and domestic workers.
—Time, 13 July 2023
Gil Tyree inspired students:Including Charles Barkley Ben Shapiro ranted against 'Barbie,' then set dolls on fire
Though not without some effort.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 28 July 2023
The 1975’s Good Vibes set was cut short after Healy, who has long been outspoken about LGBTQ rights, ranted about Malaysia’s restrictive laws banning homosexuality.
—Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 23 July 2023
This was made much worse when the neighbor ranted about this on Facebook.
—Amy Dickinson, oregonlive, 8 July 2023
Raisi first visited Venezuela, where he was photographed with President Nicolas Maduro and ranted about the crippling sanctions both countries suffer at the hands of the United States.
—Peter Aitken, Fox News, 15 June 2023
Redd wanted to rant, but Mack was gone, and Barbara as well, so there was no one around to rant to.
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 6 June 2023
Noun
Back and forth in the room, the chorale, then the brass, chorale and brass, chorale and brass, driving the rant.
—Martin Scorsese, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2023
Before she was sentenced, St Cyr went on a rambling and odd 45-minute rant in the courtroom that covered a series of unrelated topics.
—Timothy Bella, Washington Post, 14 Sep. 2023
Mayor Eric Adams explained it Wednesday night in a rant for the ages.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 7 Sep. 2023
The victims of Saturday’s rampage, killed by a gunman who left behind a sprawling series of rants full of racial hate, were all ordinary people balancing their own challenges and aspirations.
—Anna Betts, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2023
There were rants against the LGBTQ+ community, posts about political correctness as well as anti-police content.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 22 Aug. 2023
Speaking up is potentially fraught, as going in with a bombastic rant would likely compound your problems.
—Tarot Astrologers, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2023
This sort of thing—a rant, about tech industry types at Burning Man, posted on a social media site, then shared on other social media sites—is essentially the rub, the irony of Burning Man in 2023.
—Angela Watercutter, WIRED, 5 Sep. 2023
But the extra-inning win in Milwaukee on the Fourth of July, which ended with manager David Ross’s profane postgame rant about the closing of the roof at American Family Field, was probably as good a place as any to start.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb
obsolete Dutch ranten, randen
First Known Use
Verb
1601, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
1649, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Dictionary Entries Near rant
Cite this Entry
“Rant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rant. Accessed 22 Sep. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
rant
2 of 2 noun
: loud and wild speech
More from Merriam-Webster on rant
Nglish: Translation of rant for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of rant for Arabic Speakers
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share