had rather
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The school says this is because they were not removed from their roles - but had rather been suspended.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2024
George Washington once reflected on this distinction, saying, "I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world."
From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2023
By the time he was fully committed to his career, “I had rather lost interest, as far as pursuing a Ph.D. or teaching or going into the corporate world,” he said.
From New York Times ● Jul. 7, 2022
The other first-rounders all had rather pedestrian debuts, too.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 16, 2020
“We do also, unfortunately,” replied my father, “for indeed I had rather have been for ever ignorant than have discovered so much depravity and ungratitude in one I valued so highly.”
From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
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.
