rant

American  

[rant] / rænt /

verb (used without object)

1. to speak or declaim extravagantly or violently; talk in a wild or vehement way; rave.

   The demagogue ranted for hours.

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verb (used with object)

1. to utter or declaim in a ranting manner.

noun

1. ranting, extravagant, or violent declamation.

   Synonyms:

   extravagance, bombast

2. a ranting utterance.

rant British  

/ rænt /

verb

1. to utter (something) in loud, violent, or bombastic tones

2. (intr) to make merry; frolic

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noun

1. loud, declamatory, or extravagant speech; bombast

2. a wild revel

3. an energetic dance or its tune

Other Word Forms

• outrant verb (used with object)
• ranter noun
• ranting adjective
• rantingly adverb
• unranting adjective

Etymology

Origin of rant

First recorded in 1590–1600, rant is from the Dutch word ranten (obsolete) to talk foolishly

Example Sentences

As much as they may rant about the intensity, time commitments and increasingly absurd economy of youth sports, there is no way to escape it—or avoid their nearest Dick’s Sporting Goods.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 14, 2026

And as Mother Russia Mr. Turner is uproariously funny, interrupting the proceedings to rant and pontificate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

While others rant idealistically, Hackett keeps steering everything back to what will play with the affiliates and what the network can sell.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026

Let me clarify that this is not some “dinosaur rails against extinction-level comet collision” rant.

From Salon • Jan. 30, 2026

Her tears have turned to anger, the kind of rant she and Kat might have gone on after watching some documentary.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

Related Words

• diatribe
• harangue
• oration
• rhetoric
• tirade