rattle

[ rat-l ]

/ ˈræt l /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rattle ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), rat·tled, rat·tling.

to give out or cause a rapid succession of short, sharp sounds, as in consequence of agitation and repeated concussions: The windows rattled in their frames.

to move or go, especially rapidly, with such sounds: The car rattled along the highway.

to talk rapidly; chatter: He rattled on for an hour about his ailments.

verb (used with object), rat·tled, rat·tling.

to cause to rattle: He rattled the doorknob violently.

to drive, send, bring, etc., especially rapidly, with rattling sounds: The wind rattled the metal can across the roadway.

to utter or perform in a rapid or lively manner: to rattle off a list of complaints.

to disconcert or confuse (a person): A sudden noise rattled the speaker.

Hunting. to stir up (a cover).

noun

a rapid succession of short, sharp sounds, as from the collision of hard bodies.

an instrument contrived to make a rattling sound, especially a baby's toy filled with small pellets that rattle when shaken.

the series of horny, interlocking elements at the end of the tail of a rattlesnake, with which it produces a rattling sound.

a rattling sound in the throat, as the death rattle.

Nearby words

rattan, ratteen, ratter, rattigan, rattish, rattle, rattle off, rattle-bush, rattlebox, rattlebrain, rattlebrained

Origin of rattle

1250–1300; Middle English ratelen (v.), ratele (noun) (cognate with Dutch ratelen, German rasseln); imitative

SYNONYMS FOR rattle

1 clatter, knock.

7 discompose.

9 clatter.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rattle ON THESAURUS.COM

Definition for rattled (2 of 2)

rattle

[ rat-l ]

/ ˈræt l /

verb (used with object), rat·tled, rat·tling. Nautical.

to furnish with ratlines (usually followed by down).

Origin of rattle

1720–30; back formation from ratling ratline (taken as verbal noun)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rattled

In that book, Hoving made many claims that rattled the gatekeepers of the art world.
Are Over Half the Works on the Art Market Really Fakes?|Tom Sykes|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He admitted that repeated questions about the currency and the economy had rattled voters.
Scots Must Choose Heart or Head|Nico Hines|September 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The crisis in neighbouring Ukraine has rattled Alexander Lukashenko's authoritarian regime.
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, June 14, 2014|The Daily Beast|June 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was a ghastly tragedy that rattled a nation and became a byword for anti-Semitism in France.
A Horror Story of True-Life Anti-Semitism in France|Tracy McNicoll|April 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Rattled, Harris fled to New York, leaving his vast estate to his protégé.
The Grape King from Shogunate Japan|Debra A. Klein|April 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Jack came next, fortunately without dislodging any stones, which might have rattled down and betrayed their proceedings.
From Powder Monkey to Admiral|W.H.G. Kingston
Villiam rattled his good sword Escalibar4in its scabbard, and says he, grimly, "We are met together for that purpose."
The Orpheus C. Kerr Papers. Series 3|Robert H. Newell
I would have answered him back in his own coin if I hadn't felt so bad about it all, and rattled, besides.
Wild Justice: Stories of the South Seas|Lloyd Osbourne
Outside the wind was wailing like the damned, and the rain which had recommenced with new vigour, rattled noisily upon the panes.
The Trampling of the Lilies|Rafael Sabatini
And so we rattled on interrupted at intervals by exclamations called forth by England's unique beauty.
An American Four-In-Hand in Britain|Andrew Carnegie

British Dictionary definitions for rattled (1 of 3)

Rattle

/ (ˈrætəl) /

noun

Sir Simon . born 1955, English conductor. Principal conductor (1980–91) and music director (1991–98) of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 2002

British Dictionary definitions for rattled (2 of 3)

rattle

/ (ˈrætəl) /

verb

to make or cause to make a rapid succession of short sharp sounds, as of loose pellets colliding when shaken in a container

to shake or cause to shake with such a soundthe explosion rattled the windows

to send, move, drive, etc, with such a soundthe car rattled along the country road

(intr foll by on) to chatter idly; talk, esp at lengthhe rattled on about his work

(tr ; foll by off, out etc) to recite perfunctorily or rapidly

(tr) informal to disconcert; make frightened or anxious

noun

a rapid succession of short sharp sounds

an object, esp a baby's toy, filled with small pellets that rattle when shaken

a series of loosely connected horny segments on the tail of a rattlesnake, vibrated to produce a rattling sound

any of various European scrophulariaceous plants having a capsule in which the seeds rattle, such as Pedicularis palustris (red rattle) and Rhinanthus minor (yellow rattle)

idle chatter

an idle chatterer

med another name for rale

Word Origin for rattle

C14: from Middle Dutch ratelen; related to Middle High German razzen, of imitative origin

British Dictionary definitions for rattled (3 of 3)

rattle

/ (ˈrætəl) /

verb

(tr often foll by down) to fit (a vessel or its rigging) with ratlines

Word Origin for rattle

C18: back formation from rattling, variant of ratline

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for rattled (1 of 2)

rattle

c.1300 (intransitive), "To make a quick sharp noise with frequent repetitions and collisions of bodies not very sonorous: when bodies are sonorous, it is called jingling" [Johnson]. Perhaps in Old English but not recorded; if not, from Middle Dutch ratelen, probably of imitative origin (cf. German rasseln "to rattle," Greek kradao "I rattle"). Sense of "utter smartly and rapidly" is late 14c. Meaning "to go along loosely and noisily" is from 1550s. Transitive sense is late 14c.; figurative sense of "fluster" is first recorded 1869. Related: Rattled; rattling.

Word Origin and History for rattled (1 of 2)

rattle

c.1500, "rapid succession of short, sharp sounds," from rattle (v.). As a child's toy, recorded from 1510s. As a sound made in the throat (especially of one near death) from 1752.

rattle

verb (used without object), rat·tled, rat·tling.

verb (used with object), rat·tled, rat·tling.

noun

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Origin of rattle

Definition for rattled (2 of 2)

rattle

verb (used with object), rat·tled, rat·tling. Nautical.

Origin of rattle

Examples from the Web for rattled

British Dictionary definitions for rattled (1 of 3)

Rattle

noun

British Dictionary definitions for rattled (2 of 3)

rattle

verb

noun

Word Origin for rattle

British Dictionary definitions for rattled (3 of 3)

rattle

verb

Word Origin for rattle

Word Origin and History for rattled (1 of 2)

rattle

Word Origin and History for rattled (1 of 2)

rattle