rattling

1 of 2

adjective

rat·​tling ˈrat-liŋ 

1

: lively, brisk

moved at a rattling pace

2

: extraordinarily good : splendid

rattlingly

ˈrat-liŋ-lē 

adverb

rattling

2 of 2

adverb

: to an extreme degree : very

a rattling good story

Synonyms

Adjective

• blistering
• breakneck
• breathless
• brisk
• dizzy
• fast
• fleet
• fleet-footed
• flying
• galloping
• hasty
• hot
• lightning
• nippy
• quick
• rapid
• rapid-fire
• snappy
• speedy
• splitting
• swift
• whirlwind
• zippy

Adverb

• achingly
• almighty
• archly
• awful
• awfully
• badly
• beastly
• blisteringly
• bone
• colossally
• corking
• cracking
• damn
• damned
• dang
• deadly
• desperately
• eminently
• enormously
• especially
• ever
• exceedingly
• 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
• real
• really
• right
• roaring
• roaringly
• seriously
• severely
• so
• sore
• sorely
• spanking
• specially
• stinking
• such
• super
• supremely
• surpassingly
• terribly
• that
• thumping
• too
• unco
• uncommonly
• vastly
• very
• vitally
• way
• whacking
• wicked
• wildly

Examples of rattling in a Sentence

Adjective

we drove off at a rattling pace

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Here a number of the emigrants who arrived late were stowed away on a rattling floor of cane, covered with hides. —Gary Kamiya, SFChronicle.com, 2 Oct. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1828, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing rattling

• saber rattling
• sabre rattling

• saber rattling
• sabre rattling

Kids Definition

rattling

1 of 2 adjective

rat·​tling ˈrat-liŋ 

: very brisk : lively

going at a rattling pace

rattling

2 of 2 adverb

: very entry 2 sense 1

a rattling good tale