rattle
Other forms: rattled; rattles
To rattle is to make a very rapid, short series of knocking or tapping sounds. You might impatiently rattle the quarters in your pocket as you await your turn at the pinball machine.
Ice cubes rattle in your glass of lemonade, and beads rattle in a jar. Something else that rattles is a baby's rattle, a noisy toy that's filled with small balls or pellets. Figuratively, to rattle someone is to upset or irritate them, like the way a sudden thunderstorm might rattle your timid poodle. Experts trace this word back to the Middle Dutch ratelen, which they believe to be imitative since it sounds a bit like a rattle.
-
make short successive sounds
-
shake and cause to make a rattling noise
-
a rapid series of short loud sounds (as might be heard with a stethoscope in some types of respiratory disorders)“the death rattle”
-
types:
-
crepitation rale
the crackling sound heard on auscultation when patients with respiratory diseases inhale; associated with tuberculosis and pneumonia and congestive heart failure
-
type of:
-
noise
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
-
crepitation rale
-
a baby's toy that makes percussive noises when shaken
-
loosely connected horny sections at the end of a rattlesnake's tail
-
type of:
-
tail
the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body
-
tail
-
cause to lose one's composure
-
synonyms:
discomfit, discompose, disconcert, untune, upset
-
types:
- show 15 types...
- hide 15 types...
-
enervate, faze, unnerve, unsettle
disturb the composure of
-
dissolve
cause to lose control emotionally
-
bemuse, bewilder, discombobulate, throw
cause to be confused emotionally
-
abash, embarrass
cause to be embarrassed; cause to feel self-conscious
-
anguish, hurt, pain
cause emotional anguish or make miserable
-
afflict
cause great unhappiness for; distress
-
unman
cause to lose one's nerve
-
confuse, disconcert, flurry, put off
cause to feel embarrassment
-
break someone's heart
cause deep emotional pain and grief to somebody
-
agonise, agonize
cause to agonize
-
aggrieve, grieve, harrow
cause to feel distress
-
tribulate
oppress or trouble greatly
-
strain, stress, try
test the limits of
-
try
give pain or trouble to
-
excruciate, rack, torment, torture
torment emotionally or mentally
/ˈrædl/
/ˈrætəl/
Look up rattle for the last time
Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the words you need to know.
