Rattle

/ˈɹæ.təl/ · verb

Meaning

(transitive, ergative) To create a rattling sound by shaking or striking..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive, ergative) To create a rattling sound by shaking or striking.
2. (transitive, figurative, informal) To scare, startle, unsettle, or unnerve.
3. (intransitive) To make a rattling noise; to make noise by or from shaking.
4. (transitive, obsolete) To assail, annoy, or stun with a rattling noise.
5. (transitive, obsolete) To scold; to rail at.
6. To drive or ride briskly, so as to make a clattering.
7. To make a clatter with one's voice; to talk rapidly and idly; often with on or away.
8. (UK, slang) To experience withdrawal from drugs.

Example Sentences

to rattle a chain

Rattle the can of cat treats if you need to find Fluffy.

It was a deflating end to the drama for the hosts and they appeared ruffled, with Bolton going close to a leveller when Johan Elmander rattled the bar with a header from Matt Taylor’s cross.

“Tut!” said old Bittlesham. “Tut is right”, I agreed. Then the rumminess of the thing struck me. “But if you haven’t dropped a parcel over the race,” I said, “why are you looking so rattled?”

That United were rattled, mentally as well as at times physically – legitimately so – was beyond question. Nick Powell clipped a crisp drive a foot over the bar, but otherwise Milton Keynes had the best of the remainder of the first half.

The German authorities are still trying to determine what damage their mole may have done. But the discovery of a double agent has rattled German political circles.

I wish the dashboard in my car would quit rattling.

Sound but another [drum], and another shall / As loud as thine rattle the welkin’s ear.

Synonyms for rattle

Antonyms for rattle

Related Words

Word Forms

• rattles
• rattling
• rattled

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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