Meaning & use
ranted
Last updated
“ranted” is a form of “rant”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
verbintransitive
Spoke or wrote in a loud, angry, and often lengthy way about something that upset you.
Grammar: No object; often followed by 'about' to name the topic: He ranted about the new rules.
Patterns
- rant about something
- rant at someone
- rant for hours
He ranted about the unfair decision for twenty minutes.
She ranted at the manager after waiting an hour for her food.
The coach ranted to the team about their careless mistakes.
Word forms
| base form | rant |
|---|---|
| third person singular | rants |
| past tense | ranted |
| past participle | ranted |
| -ing form | ranting |
Common combinations
- rant about something
- He ranted about the traffic for the whole drive home.
- rant at someone
- Don't rant at me; I'm not the one who lost your keys.
- rant on and on
- She ranted on and on until everyone stopped listening.
- rant and rave
- The customer ranted and raved about the broken machine.
Synonyms and how they differ
- complain
- Complain is neutral and can be calm or brief; rant suggests loud, emotional, and lengthy speech.
- rage
- Rage can be silent or internal, while rant always involves speaking or writing angrily.
- vent
- Vent means releasing emotion, often to feel better; rant focuses on the angry, unstructured speech itself.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: ranted or rented?
ranted vs rented
Rented is the past tense of 'rent' (pay to use something). Ranted is the past tense of 'rant' (speak angrily).
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
Rant is intransitive and takes 'about' to name the subject. The other options use the wrong preposition or no preposition, which does not fit the pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ranted”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.