rattle
[verb]
Synonyms:
- clatter, bang, jangle
- shake, bounce, jar, jolt, vibrate
- fluster, disconcert, disturb, faze, perturb, shake, upset

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Related Words: addle, muddle, disturb, upset, bewilder, distract, perplex

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English Thesaurus: bang, crash, thud, thump, clink, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

Rattle, Sir Simon
(1955–) a British conductor (=someone who directs a group of musicians), known especially for working with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1997). In 2002 he became the chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

I. rat‧tle¹ /ˈrætl/ verb
[Date: 1300-1400; Origin: Probably from Middle Low German ratelen]

1. [intransitive and transitive] if you rattle something, or if it rattles, it shakes and makes a quick series of short sounds:
Dan banged on her door and rattled the handle.
The window rattled in the wind.
Bottles rattled as he stacked the beer crates.

2. [intransitive] if a vehicle rattles somewhere, it travels there while making a rattling sound
rattle along/past/over etc
The cart rattled along the stony road.
An old blue van rattled into view.

3. [transitive] informal to make someone lose confidence or become nervous:
His mocking smile rattled her more than his anger.
It was hard not to get rattled when the work piled up.
His confidence was rattled by the accident.

4. rattle sb’s cage spoken informal to annoy someone – used humorously:
Who rattled your cage?
rattle around phrasal verb British English
to live in a building that is much too big for you
rattle around in
Dad and I rattled around miserably in the house after Mum died.
rattle something ↔ off phrasal verb
to say several pieces of information or a list quickly and easily from memory:
Chris rattled off some statistics about the teams.
rattle on phrasal verb British English informal
to talk quickly for a long time about boring things Synonym : go on
rattle on about
Nancy would rattle on for hours about her grandchildren.
rattle through something phrasal verb British English informal
to do something quickly because you want to finish it
rattle up something phrasal verb British English
if a sports player rattles up a number of points, they get that number of points very quickly:
The West Indies had rattled up 411 for 5 when rain stopped play.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. rattle² noun

1. [uncountable and countable] a short repeated sound, made when something shakes:
They listened anxiously to every rattle and creak in the house.
rattle of
the rattle of chains
the faint rattle of distant gunfire ⇒ death rattle

2.
[countable] a baby’s toy that makes a noise when it is shaken

3. [countable] British English an object that people shake to make a loud noise and show excitement or encouragement, for example at ceremonies or sports games

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

bang a loud sound caused especially when something hard or heavy hits something else:
I heard a loud bang and rushed out to see what had happened.
He slammed the door shut with a bang.
crash a very loud sound caused when something hits something else, especially when damage is caused:
The tray of dishes fell to the floor with a crash.
I heard an enormous crash outside our house, and I went to see what had happened.
thud a quiet low sound made when a heavy object falls down onto surface:
There was a dull thud as the box hit the floor.
His head hit the ground with a sickening thud.
thump a dull loud sound made when a heavy object hits something else:
There was a loud thump as Eddie threw Luther back against the wall.
clink a short ringing sound made when two glass, metal, or china objects hit each other:
the clink of champagne glasses
The clink of cutlery could be heard in the restaurant.
tinkle the pleasant sound that is made by light pieces of glass or metal hitting each other repeatedly:
He listened to the faint tinkle of cow bells in the distance.
jingle the sound of small metal objects being shaken together:
the jingle of her bracelets
the jingle of keys
rattle a short repeated sound made when things hit against each other - used especially when part of something is loose and is hitting against something:
There was a strange rattle coming from the engine.
the rattle of the trolley

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

hit to hit someone quickly and hard with your hand, a stick etc:
He hit him hard in the stomach.
I don’t like to see people hitting a dog.
beat to hit someone deliberately many times, especially very hard:
The girl had been beaten to death.
He was beating the donkey with a stick.
strike written to hit someone with your hand or a weapon. Strike is more formal than hit and is mainly used in written English:
Her husband struck her twice across the face.
Police say that the man had been struck on the head.
punch to hit someone hard with your closed hand, especially in a fight:
I punched him on the nose.
She was screaming and punching him with her fists.
thump /θʌmp/ informal to punch someone very hard:
Sometimes I just want to thump him.
beat somebody up to hurt someone badly in a violent attack, by hitting them many times:
If I tell the police, they'll beat me up.
He had been beaten up and tortured with lighted cigarettes.
slap to hit someone with your open hand, especially because you are angry with them:
They had a big row and she ended up slapping him.
spank (also smack especially British English) to hit someone, especially a child, with your open hand in order to punish them:
Should a parent ever smack a child?
I don’t agree with smacking.
In those days, children were spanked if they behaved badly.
bang a loud sound caused especially when something hard or heavy hits something else:
I heard a loud bang and rushed out to see what had happened.
He slammed the door shut with a bang.
crash a very loud sound caused when something hits something else, especially when damage is caused:
The tray of dishes fell to the floor with a crash.
I heard an enormous crash outside our house, and I went to see what had happened.
thud a quiet low sound made when a heavy object falls down onto surface:
There was a dull thud as the box hit the floor.
His head hit the ground with a sickening thud.
clink a short ringing sound made when two glass, metal, or china objects hit each other:
the clink of champagne glasses
The clink of cutlery could be heard in the restaurant.
tinkle the pleasant sound that is made by light pieces of glass or metal hitting each other repeatedly:
He listened to the faint tinkle of cow bells in the distance.
jingle the sound of small metal objects being shaken together:
the jingle of her bracelets
the jingle of keys
rattle a short repeated sound made when things hit against each other - used especially when part of something is loose and is hitting against something:
There was a strange rattle coming from the engine.
the rattle of the trolley

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

shake if a person or part of their body shakes, they make small sudden continuous movements from side to side or up and down, especially because they are very frightened, cold, ill etc:
Suddenly he started to shake. ‘Don’t ever scare me like that again!’ he whispered.
The poor girl was shaking.
shudder to shake for a short time, especially because you think of something very unpleasant, or because you feel frightened or cold:
Corbett shuddered when he thought of what might have happened to them.
I shuddered when I read the article.
He was still shuddering with the cold.
She clung to him, shuddering with emotion.
tremble to shake slightly in a way that you cannot control, especially because you are frightened, worried, or angry:
Ernest opened the letter in silence, his hands trembling.
Her whole body trembled with fear.
He hadn’t dared to move. He was trembling with shock.
‘I won’t be coming back,’ she said, her body trembling with anger.
shiver to shake slightly, especially only a few times, because you are cold or frightened:
She shivered, pulling her coat closer around herself.
You make me shiver when you talk like that.
quiver especially literary to shake slightly and continuously because you are very worried or excited – used especially about someone’s lips, mouth, or body:
Her bottom lip began to quiver, and she turned away to hide her tears.
Alice’s eyes began to fill with tears and her mouth quivered. ‘I 'm going away,’ she said.
wobble to move unsteadily from side to side:
Mrs Hamilton wobbled precariously on her high heels.
rock to move gently backwards and forwards or from side to side:
He rocked to and fro in his chair.
rattle to shake and make a noise:
The windows rattled in the wind.
The train was rattling over the bridge.
vibrate to shake continuously with small fast movements:
The music was so loud that the whole room vibrated.
The atoms vibrate at different frequencies.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

shake to move suddenly from side to side or up and down, usually with a lot of force:
The floor shook from a distant explosion.
The walls were still shaking.
The trees were shaking in the wind.
rattle to shake and make a noise:
The windows rattled in the wind.
The train was rattling over the bridge.
vibrate to shake continuously with small fast movements:
The music was so loud that the whole room vibrated.
The atoms vibrate at different frequencies.
wobble to move unsteadily from side to side:
The bike began to wobble alarmingly as she fought to control it.
The cup wobbled and he grabbed it to stop it from falling.
rock to move gently backwards and forwards or from side to side:
The trailer rocked in the wind.
The boat was rocking from side to side with the waves.
shudder (also judder especially British English) if a vehicle or machine shudders, it shakes for a short time.:
The lift shuddered then began to descend.
The engine shuddered into life (=it shook and then started working).
The car juddered to a halt (=it shook and then stopped) outside the house.
bang a loud sound caused especially when something hard or heavy hits something else:
I heard a loud bang and rushed out to see what had happened.
He slammed the door shut with a bang.
crash a very loud sound caused when something hits something else, especially when damage is caused:
The tray of dishes fell to the floor with a crash.
I heard an enormous crash outside our house, and I went to see what had happened.
thud a quiet low sound made when a heavy object falls down onto surface:
There was a dull thud as the box hit the floor.
His head hit the ground with a sickening thud.
thump a dull loud sound made when a heavy object hits something else:
There was a loud thump as Eddie threw Luther back against the wall.
clink a short ringing sound made when two glass, metal, or china objects hit each other:
the clink of champagne glasses
The clink of cutlery could be heard in the restaurant.
tinkle the pleasant sound that is made by light pieces of glass or metal hitting each other repeatedly:
He listened to the faint tinkle of cow bells in the distance.
jingle the sound of small metal objects being shaken together:
the jingle of her bracelets
the jingle of keys

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

squeak a very short high sound or cry:
I heard the squeak of his shoes on the tiled floor.
Annie gave a squeak of surprise.
creak a long high sound that something makes when someone opens it, walks on it, sits on it etc - used especially about a door, wooden floor, bed, or stairs:
the creak of floorboards
The door opened with a creak.
screech a loud, long, unpleasantly high sound - used especially about someone’s voice, or about brakes, tyres etc:
There was a screech of tyres followed by a bang.
She let out a screech of horror.
beep (also bleep British English) a high electronic sound that a machine sends out, especially in order to attract someone’s attention:
You’ll hear a bleep when the photocopier’s finished printing.
hum a quiet low continuous sound, especially from electrical equipment, traffic, an engine, or people’s conversation:
The only sound was the faint hum of the air-conditioning unit.
He could hear the hum of distant traffic.
rustle a continuous quiet sound from papers, leaves, or clothes when they rub together:
She heard the rustle of dried leaves behind her.
the rustle of silk dresses
murmur a quiet low continuous sound, especially from people’s voices that are far away:
The murmur of voices died away.
They spoke in a low murmur.
rumble a series of long low sounds, especially from big guns, traffic, or thunder:
I heard a rumble of thunder.
the low rumble of a train approaching
splash the sound that a liquid makes when something hits it, or when it hits against another thing:
She jumped into the pool with a big splash.
the splash of the waves against the rocks
gurgle the low sound that water makes when it flows gently over or through something:
the gurgle of a stream
She listened to the gurgle as the water drained out of the bath.
plop the sudden short sound when something is dropped into a liquid:
Kate dropped the ice into her glass with a plop.
hiss a continuous high sound when air or gas comes out of something:
There was a hiss of steam from the coffee machine.
Workers reported hearing a loud hiss moments before the explosion.
bang a short sudden loud noise made by a gun, bomb etc:
There was a loud bang as the bomb exploded.
The firework went off with a bang.
boom a very loud sound from an explosion, which you can hear for several seconds after it begins:
The building exploded into rubble with a loud boom.
The boom of artillery fire echoed in the distance.
roar a continuous very loud noise that gets louder and continues for a long time:
The light was followed by the deafening roar of explosions.
the roar of the ship’s guns
crash a very loud sound caused when something hits something else, especially when damage is caused:
The tray of dishes fell to the floor with a crash.
I heard an enormous crash outside our house, and I went to see what had happened.
thud a quiet low sound made when a heavy object falls down onto surface:
There was a dull thud as the box hit the floor.
His head hit the ground with a sickening thud.
thump a dull loud sound made when a heavy object hits something else:
There was a loud thump as Eddie threw Luther back against the wall.
clink a short ringing sound made when two glass, metal, or china objects hit each other:
the clink of champagne glasses
The clink of cutlery could be heard in the restaurant.
tinkle the pleasant sound that is made by light pieces of glass or metal hitting each other repeatedly:
He listened to the faint tinkle of cow bells in the distance.
jingle the sound of small metal objects being shaken together:
the jingle of her bracelets
the jingle of keys
rattle a short repeated sound made when things hit against each other - used especially when part of something is loose and is hitting against something:
There was a strange rattle coming from the engine.
the rattle of the trolley
appear a more formal word for ‘seem’:
These reports appear to be unfounded.
look to seem to be something, often because of what can be seen:
The future looks bleak.
He looked pleased.
sound used to say that something or someone seems to be something because of what you have heard or read about them, or because of the noise or voice that you hear:
This study sounds very ambitious.
They heard what sounded like a blow.
come across as something to seem to have particular qualities:
He comes across as a very sensitive man.
sound advice
He gave us some sound advice.
sound judgement
He was beginning to rely on her sound judgement.
a sound reason
Both these buyers have sound reasons for their choice.
a sound investment
Property is usually a sound investment.
a sound policy
The problems of industry will only be solved by sound economic policies.
a sound basis
Sometimes friendship is a sound basis for a good marriage.
environmentally/ecologically sound
The government encourages environmentally sound management of the countryside.
ideologically sound (=good, according to a set of beliefs)
It was the ideologically sound thing to do.
scientifically/technically sound
Are these studies scientifically sound?

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

rattle
ˈrætl
See: sabre raitling

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲