rattled 1 of 2

adjective

as in upset

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rattled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of rattle
1
as in clattered
to make a series of short sharp noises the children tromped through the kitchen, making the plates on the shelf rattle

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2
as in chatted
to engage in casual or rambling conversation busily rattling away about our vacation plans, we didn't listen to the announcements and missed our flight

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3
as in rambled
to talk at length without sticking to a topic or getting to a point she rattled on and on about all her European shopping trips, but I wasn't really listening

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4
as in embarrassed
to throw into a state of self-conscious distress don't let a little mistake rattle you while you're playing during the piano recital

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rattled
Adjective
But New York never looked rattled. — Alejandro Avila, FOXNews.com, 4 June 2026 Movius asked the rattled crowd afterward. — Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026 Though the actress said the moment did not physically harm her, the interaction left her rattled and confused. — Deirdre Durkan, PEOPLE, 19 May 2026 The anemic performance breathed even more confidence into the Spurs, who looked rattled in Game 1. — Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 7 May 2026 Most importantly, Darnold didn’t make a mistake all night, while Maye seemed rattled and lost a fumble and threw a late interception. — Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 9 Feb. 2026 The conflict with Iran has driven up borrowing costs and rattled markets, adding to economic uncertainty. — Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 16 Apr. 2026 As a result, Nvidia’s results next week could soothe some rattled nerves around tech, given that where the AI chipmaker goes, the stock market seems to go as well. — Sarah Min, CNBC, 14 Nov. 2025 His praise came several months after some of the president's loudest supporters called Barrett squishy, a rattled law professor and a DEI hire for siding against the administration on one of the president’s many emergency appeals. — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
Hundreds of smaller aftershocks have rattled the region in the days since. — Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 30 June 2026 The 27-year-old right-hander isn’t easily rattled, which is one of the reasons the Mets like him. — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 27 June 2026 Last night’s incident emotionally rattled you, but tensions will cool in the coming hours. — Usa Today, USA Today, 2 July 2026 Inciarte’s nieces and sister, as well as her mother and her mother’s caretakers, were in Caracas when the quakes rattled the city. — Will Clark, NBC news, 26 June 2026 Back-to-back earthquakes rattled Venezuela Wednesday evening, killing nearly 190 people. — John Lauritsen, CBS News, 25 June 2026 Like playwright Annie Baker’s warm, lush first feature, The Children’s Bach spins around a dreamy mother whose life is rattled by the appearance of a rakish rogue. — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 2 July 2026 Their success has rattled more centrist Democrats who are concerned Mamdani’s politics will not help the party’s candidates contesting battleground, swing districts. — Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 26 June 2026 In late May, in broad daylight, residents across Massachusetts and beyond saw a brilliant flash in the sky, followed by two sonic booms that rattled windows, shook houses, and prompted a flood of 911 calls. — Govert Schilling, Scientific American, 27 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rattled
  1. upset
  2. clattered
  3. chatted
  4. rambled
  5. embarrassed
  6. bothered
  7. talked
  8. wandered
Adjective
  • Play was held up after some upset fans threw things onto the field after the controversial offside call.
    — Ashley Mowreader, NBC news, 3 July 2026
  • Usually, when the USMNT enters the knockout stage in the World Cup, they’re considered the underdogs, hoping to be scrappy to force an upset.
    — Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of upset
Verb
  • Many people watching the game on TV were surprised, since replays seemed to suggest Freuler had been offside before being clattered by Abunada.
    — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 13 June 2026
  • There have been a dozen political crises in Britain in the past decade, when Prime Ministers have fallen, elections have been called, and helicopters clattered overhead.
    — Sam Knight, New Yorker, 14 May 2026
Definition of clattered
Verb
  • Other celeb sightings in New York City ahead of the big day include Kelce's Tight End University co-founder George Kittle and his wife Claire, who chatted with PEOPLE recently about their excitement for Swift and Kelce's wedding.
    — Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 2 July 2026
  • Tong, who also had a hard-working, immigrant background, chatted often with the younger Larson.
    — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 28 June 2026
Definition of chatted
Verb
  • Cars lined the streets looking for parking spots as people rambled through the bustling marketplace at Clock Tower Landing.
    — Kendrick Calfee June 6, Kansas City Star, 6 June 2026
  • When asked simple questions by William Savitt, one of the attorneys representing OpenAI, Musk rambled and avoided the issue at hand.
    — Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 18 May 2026
Definition of rambled
Verb
  • At one point, the narrator, embarrassed by his own act of cruelty, gives a sobbing woman all his money and then leaves her alone in a hotel room.
    — Hannah Jocelyn, New Yorker, 1 July 2026
  • The Chicago White Sox, a team many left for dead at the start of the year, embarrassed the Kansas City Royals Friday night, 22-1.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 27 June 2026
Definition of embarrassed
Adjective
  • Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi star as childhood pals turned hot and bothered frenemies having quite the torrid love affair as adults in a sumptuous and quite haughty bad romance.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 8 May 2026
  • After a frustrating conversation with a hotel staffer about the air conditioning, a hot and bothered Fuller threw on a ball cap, turned it backward and recorded a rant on his cellphone.
    — Tia Mitchell, AJC.com, 1 May 2026
Definition of bothered
Verb
  • Both of the soon-to-be newlyweds have talked openly about wanting to have kids.
    — Bryan West, USA Today, 4 July 2026
  • Gyllenhaal received the President’s Award on Friday at the festival’s opening night ceremony, and talked to the international press on Saturday in a suite at the neo-baroque Grand Hotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary.
    — Carole Horst, Variety, 4 July 2026
Definition of talked
Verb
  • The 1,200-pound giraffe, named Gracie, wandered away from her unfenced habitat at Cedar Hollow Ranch in Leakey, Texas, on June 12.
    — Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 27 June 2026
  • At the time, the ranch said the giraffe had likely slipped through an enclosure gate and wandered into surrounding private ranchland.
    — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026
Definition of wandered

Browse Nearby Words

rattlebrains
rattled
rattles
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Cite this Entry

“Rattled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rattled. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on rattled

Nglish: Translation of rattled for Spanish Speakers

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