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Showing results for rattling. Search instead for wattling.
Synonyms

rattling

American  
[rat-ling] / ˈræt lɪŋ /

adjective

  1. that rattles: rattle.

    a rattling door.

  2. remarkably good, lively, or fast.

    a rattling talk; a rattling gallop.

adverb

  1. very.

    a rattling good time.
rattling British  
/ ˈrætlɪŋ /

adverb

  1. informal (intensifier qualifying something good, fine, pleasant, etc)

    a rattling good lunch
"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

Other Word Forms

  • rattlingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of rattling

1350–1400; Middle English ratelinge; rattle 1, -ing 2

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.

Occasionally a rattling of a chair, but little more.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

“But you’re not rattling them off. They’re people that mean something to you; that you couldn’t be here without them.”

From Salon • Mar. 16, 2026

The war shocks rattling global financial markets show how important this factor remains.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026

"He's on his own, rattling around in his big house with all these demons and ghosts, and the consequences of his deeds come rushing back in."

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

Even through the rattling start, the no back seat, the frozen moment, Axel starts to make his way around the back of the Forester.

From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers

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.