How to Use would rather in a Sentence

would rather

phrase
  • Even if some would rather just watch the game.
    — Patrick Smith, NBC news, 9 Aug. 2025
  • Francesca would rather fake it than delve too deeply.
    — Meg Walters, Glamour, 29 Jan. 2026
  • The Rangers would rather not talk about that.
    — Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Trump would rather it was ignored.
    — Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 9 Feb. 2026
  • That means that most of them would rather explore the world than pause to rest.
    — Michelle Stansbury, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2025
  • Both women would rather buy legal cannabis than hemp.
    — Gina Lee Castro, jsonline.com, 19 Feb. 2026
  • Part of her would rather not give people the grounds to decide.
    — Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2023
  • Komasa’s film would rather not get hung up on the details.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Rachel Bloom would rather be singing about trees that smell like semen.
    — Vulture, 14 Sep. 2023
  • Triplett would rather not play against them anymore anyway.
    — Michael Osipoff, Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2026
  • The Stars would rather have a healthy Seguin back than make a trade.
    — Pierre Lebrun, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026
  • And Don Lemon would rather go the extra mile.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Bose would rather float in the sky-ocean than get down to the nitty-gritty.
    — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
  • And some people are just a little cracked and would rather live their life at night.
    — Steve Baltin, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
  • The 49ers would rather pay $4 million.
    — Matt Barrows, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
  • New users who would rather make a hefty bet on a certain game can use the safety net.
    — Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Some will want to put in that work and others would rather just open the camera and snap away.
    — PCMAG, 27 Sep. 2024
  • Bryson is more in the pocket and would rather operate from there.
    — Andy Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 31 Aug. 2023
  • Trump now says ‘people would rather not watch’ Nidal Hasan die.
    — Stevie Bonifield, The Verge, 15 Oct. 2026
  • And stigma is one of the reasons that people would rather die and ask for help.
    — Christina McDermott, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Aug. 2023
  • There are board games in Danielle’s office, but Lily would rather rest.
    — Allegra Goodman, The New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2024
  • Spain still has many families that would rather not talk about what happened.
    — Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
  • And for those who would rather have their own space to use as a home base, an Airbnb is your best bet.
    — Christina Pérez, Vogue, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The safety net is available to those who would rather make a hefty bet on a certain matchup.
    — Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Nina would rather remain loyal to her soil.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 Feb. 2026
  • Keep reading to learn about the four main paint shades that pros would rather not see in a hallway, and why.
    — Sarah Lyon, Southern Living, 13 Apr. 2025
  • Future Hall-of-Famers would rather carve their own path, in their own league.
    — Shane Young, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
  • Margolis would rather see the parcel preserved as a green space or a park.
    — Briah Lumpkins, Charlotte Observer, 20 Mar. 2025
  • Many designers would rather forget about them.
    — Sarah Lyon, Southern Living, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Rodrigo would rather be seen as a singer-songwriter than a pop star.
    — Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 12 Sep. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'would rather.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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