rant
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
-
ranting, extravagant, or violent declamation.
- Synonyms:
- extravagance, bombast
-
a ranting utterance.
verb
-
to utter (something) in loud, violent, or bombastic tones
-
(intr) to make merry; frolic
noun
-
loud, declamatory, or extravagant speech; bombast
-
a wild revel
-
an energetic dance or its tune
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rant
First recorded in 1590–1600, rant is from the Dutch word ranten (obsolete) to talk foolishly
Explanation
A rant is an argument that is fueled by passion, not shaped by facts. When the shouting starts on talk radio, or when a blog commenter resorts to ALL CAPS, you're almost certainly encountering a rant. Rant comes from the Dutch ranten, "to talk nonsense." Rave is a close synonym — in fact, "to rant and rave" is a popular expression. When rant is used as a noun, it means something like tirade. The first recorded usage of rant is from the end of the sixteenth century, in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor. By the middle of the turbulent seventeenth century, the name Ranters was used as a catchall pejorative for various groups of radical Christian dissenters.
Vocabulary lists containing rant
Instead of "Said": Vexed Verbiage to Express Anger
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"The Hunger Games" Vocabulary from Chapter 1
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The Secret Life of Bees
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Screen Rant said it was the “best character send-off that the show has done in years — arguably even better than Gibbs’ exit.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026
Lithgow, 79, confirmed to Screen Rant in an interview published Tuesday he is set to play Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2025
But the Independent said the biopic itself "plays too safe" and Screen Rant described the "serviceable" film as a "fascinating yet frustrating" portrait.
From BBC • Dec. 11, 2024
Rant to the medical providers who never told me about these and prescribed a walking boot that is 3 inches taller than my noninjured foot.
From Seattle Times • May 25, 2024
Rant replied, that the motive and not the act constituted the crime.
From The Black Baronet; or, The Chronicles Of Ballytrain The Works of William Carleton, Volume One by Carleton, William
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
