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Rather vs Indeed - What's the difference?

rather | indeed |

As adverbs the difference between rather and indeed

is that rather is (obsolete) more quickly; sooner, earlier while indeed is (lb) truly; in fact; actually.

As a verb rather

is (nonstandard|or|dialectal) to prefer; to prefer to.

As an adjective rather

is (obsolete) prior; earlier; former.

As an interjection indeed is

indicates emphatic agreement.

rather

English

Adverb

(-)
  • (obsolete) More quickly; sooner, earlier.
  • Used to specify a choice or preference; preferably. (Now usually followed by than )
  • *
    • Firstly, I continue to base most species treatments on personally collected material, rather than on herbarium plants.
  • (conjunctive) Used to introduce a contradiction; on the contrary.
  • (conjunctive) Introducing a qualification or clarification; more precisely. (Now usually preceded by or .)
  • * 1897 , (Henry James), (What Maisie Knew) :
    • What the pupil already knew was indeed rather taken for granted than expressed, but it performed the useful function of transcending all textbooks and supplanting all studies.
  • * 1898, J. A. Hamilton, ", Volume LIV: Stanhope–Stovin , The MacMillan Company, page 60,
    • His ‘Iliad’ is spirited and polished, and, though often rather a paraphrase than a translation, is always more truly poetic than most of the best translations.
  • * , chapter=12
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=All this was extraordinarily distasteful to Churchill.
  • (degree) Somewhat, fairly.

    • Usage notes

    * (somewhat) This is a non-descriptive qualifier'', similar to quite and fairly and somewhat. It is used where a plain adjective needs to be modified, but cannot be qualified. When spoken, the meaning can vary with the tone of voice and stress. "''He was rather big''" can mean anything from "not small" to "huge" (meiosis with the stress on ''rather ).

    Synonyms

    * liever, liefer, as lief * (to a certain extent) somewhat, fairly, quite

    Antonyms

    * (somewhat) utterly

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (nonstandard, or, dialectal) To prefer; to prefer to.
  • * 1984 , Bruce Brooks, The Moves Make the Man :
    • Until just before the pie was popped into the heat. A few of them suddenly realized who put that gorgeous hunk of crackers together, and gaped. We grinned back, but very cool. The ones who knew said nothing, rathering to die than let on they had been hustled by two negative dudes.
  • * 2002 , Sarah Waters, Fingersmith :
    • It was a plain brown dress, more or less the colour of my hair; and the walls of our kitchen being also brown, when I came downstairs again I could hardly be seen. I should have rathered a blue gown, or a violet one
  • * 2002 , Elizabeth Bowen, The Heat of the Day :
    • So you must excuse my saying anything I did: all it was, that up to the very last I had understood us all to be friendly — apart, that is, from his rathering me not there. How was I to know he would flash out so wicked?
  • * 2007 , Mikel Schaefer, Lost in Katrina , page 323:
    • "That was a killer," said Chris. "I'd rathered' die in St. Bernard than spent one minute over there. I would have ' rathered the storm, shaking with the wind and rain hitting in the boat for an eternity than spending any time there.

    Adjective

    (-)
  • (obsolete) Prior; earlier; former.
  • * Sir J. Mandeville
    • Now no man dwelleth at the rather town.

    Statistics

    * English conjunctive adverbs English degree adverbs

    indeed

    English

    Alternative forms

    * endeed (obsolete)

    Adverb

    (-)
  • (lb) Truly; in fact; actually.
  • :
  • *
  • *:Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed , a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 , passage=I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed , did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.}}
  • *{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
    • , chapter=1 citation , passage=She was like a Beardsley Salome , he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry. His wooing had been brief but incisive.}}
  • *
  • *:With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed , allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= Welcome to the plastisphere , passage=[The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic marine] debris sported surface pits around two microns across. Such pits are about the size of a bacterial cell. Closer examination showed that some of these pits did, indeed , contain bacteria,
  • In fact.
  • :

    • Synonyms

    * (actually) certainly, definitely, in fact, indubitably, really, surely, truly, undoubtedly

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • indicates emphatic agreement
    • "I'm a great runner." "Indeed!"

    Synonyms

    * absolutely * indubitably * okay * sure thing

    Statistics

    *

    External links

    * indeed] at [http://septicscompanion.com The Septic's Companion: A British Slang Dictionary

    Anagrams

    * English conjunctive adverbs English degree adverbs English modal adverbs