ranted; ranting; rants
1
intransitive
: to complain loudly, angrily, or unreasonably
… films and books ranting against corporations and the gun lobby …—
Joel Stein
Joel Stein"You can rant and rave all you want," she said, "but it's not going to change things."
2
transitive + intransitive
: to talk or recite in a noisy, excited, or bombastic manner
… barkers ranting at the crowds …—Gerald Shapiro
Gerald Shapiro… the actor who rants Shakespeare …—H. E. Clurman
H. E. Clurman
ranter
noun
1
a(1)
: a long, angry speech or piece of writing : tirade
went on a rant about the price of gas
… in Walden's transcendental rants I found all my angsty teenage convictions gloriously and authoritatively ratified.—M. Allen Cunningham
M. Allen Cunningham
(2)
: a bombastic extravagant speech
… two other boys … happened on a street orator; tiring of the rant, one boy pushed the speaker's hat off with a stick …—Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
b
: bombastic extravagant language
The speeches were full of rant, cant, and vanity …—Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin2
dialectal British
: a rousing good time
rant·er
ˈran-tər
plural -s
1
: one that rants
especially
: a noisy bombastic speaker
2
usually capitalized
a
: a member of a 17th century pantheistic, antinomian, and highly individualistic religious group in England
b
: a member of the Primitive Methodists who seceded from the Wesleyan Methodists as being deficient in fervor and zeal
—usually used in derision and in allusion to the loud tones of their preaching and responses
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 (1)
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
Madeline Morrison, NBC news, 10 June 2026
Trump continued ranting as Welker tried to fit in more questions about the weaponization fund, but the president said he was done with the interview, thanking Welker for the time and wishing her a good day before walking away.
—Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 7 June 2026
FOXNews.com, 10 June 2026
His online rants were becoming increasingly extreme.
—Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for rant
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
Rinderknecht allegedly ranted to passengers about Luigi Mangione, who is accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, capitalism and vigilantism, The Associated Press reported.
—Madeline Morrison, NBC news, 10 June 2026
Trump continued ranting as Welker tried to fit in more questions about the weaponization fund, but the president said he was done with the interview, thanking Welker for the time and wishing her a good day before walking away.
—Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 7 June 2026
Noun
Continue reading … POLITICS SIN CITY SHOWDOWN — Dem rep who went on expletive-laden anti-Trump rant wins primary.
—FOXNews.com, 10 June 2026
His online rants were becoming increasingly extreme.
—Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for rant
Cite this Entry
“Rant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rant. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rant
2 of 2 noun
: loud and wild speech
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