Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

1

rattling

play
adjective rat·tling \ˈrat-liŋ\

Definition of rattling

  1. 1 :  lively, brisk moved at a rattling pace

  2. 2 :  extraordinarily good :  splendid

rattlingly

play \-liŋ-lē\ adverb

See rattling defined for kids

From the M-W Editors

alt-594ab41a604d2
Trending: Kim and Kanye Might Have Hired a Surrogate Mother
decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?
image2144101468
Better Ways to Say "This Sucks"
alt-5931949575ca5
'All the Feels,' All the Time

Examples of rattling in a Sentence

  1. we drove off at a rattling pace

1600

First Known Use of rattling

1600

rattling Synonyms

Synonyms
blistering, breakneck, breathless, brisk, dizzy, fleet, fleet-footed, flying, galloping, hasty, hot, lightning, nippy, quick, rapid, rapid-fire, fast, snappy, speedy, splitting, swift, whirlwind, zippy
Antonyms
slow
Related Words
expeditious, prompt, ready; accelerated, hastened, hurried, quickened, rushed; breathtaking; energetic, strenuous, strong, vigorous; high-speed; rush; ultrafast, ultrarapid
Near Antonyms
crawling, dallying, dawdling, dillydallying, dragging, laggard, languid, lingering, plodding, poking, poky (or pokey), slowish, sluggish, unhurried; deliberate, leisurely, measured; dilatory, late, tardy; ultraslow
2

rattling

adverb rat·tling

Definition of rattling

  1. :  to an extreme degree :  very a rattling good story

See rattling defined for English-language learners

1828

First Known Use of rattling

1828

rattling Synonyms

Synonyms
achingly, almighty, archly, awful, awfully, badly, beastly, blisteringly, bone, colossally, corking, cracking, damn, damned, dang, deadly, desperately, eminently, enormously, especially, ever, exceedingly (also exceeding), extra, extremely, fabulously, fantastically, far, fiercely, filthy, frightfully, full, greatly, heavily, highly, hugely, immensely, incredibly, intensely, jolly, majorly, mightily, mighty, monstrous [chiefly dialect], mortally, most, much, particularly, passing, very, real, really, right, roaring, roaringly, seriously, severely, so, sore, sorely, spanking, specially, stinking, such, super, supremely, surpassingly, terribly, that, thumping, too, unco, uncommonly, vastly, vitally, way, whacking, wicked, wildly
Antonyms
little, negligibly, nominally, slightly, somewhat
Related Words
absolutely, altogether, completely, downright, entirely, flat-out, fully, positively, purely, radically, thoroughly, totally, utterly, wholly; deeply, profoundly; exceptionally, notably, remarkably; considerably, extensively, significantly, substantially; appreciably, discernibly, markedly, noticeably, obviously, palpably, plainly, visibly; abundantly, plentifully; astronomically, grandly, monstrously, monumentally; excessively, obscenely, overmuch; amazingly, astonishingly, staggeringly
Near Antonyms
meagerly, scantily; barely, hardly, just, marginally, minimally, scarcely

RATTLING Defined for English Language Learners

rattling

adverb

Definition of rattling for English Language Learners

  • : very or extremely

Learn More about rattling

  1. See words that rhyme with rattling Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for rattling Nglish: Translation of rattling for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of rattling for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up rattling? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

threshold

play

the point at which something begins

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. surrogate mother From TMZ to the dictionary.

  2. zealot A fanatical partisan

  3. stonewall to be uncooperative, obstructive, or evasive

  4. scurrilous Containing obscenities, abuse, or slander

  5. depose That word might not mean what you think it means.

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

rattling

WORD GAMES

Take a 3-minute break and test your skills!

  • istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
  • Which is a synonym of garner?
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Bee Cubed

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

image2144101468
That Sucks Word Alternatives

Your day is the worst. Your vocabulary is the best.

alt-5931949575ca5
'All the Feels,' All the Time

Once more, with 'feels'

alt-59480e09b8844
A Pineapple Is An Apple (Kind Of)

Pineapple once had a different, more internationally common name.

alt-594938b88b98e
Read This to Get 'Smart'

A thinking person's guide

Ask the Editors

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

serial-comma
The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Summer's first WOTD quiz.

Take the quiz
alt-5941ad7527c3c
Yearbook Superlatives Quiz

Is that your picture under "Largest Vocabulary"?

Take the quiz
Name That Thing
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz
Bee Cubed
Bee Cubed

Listen to the words and spell through all three levels.

Play the game
Examples: rattling in a Sentence