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Meaning & use

ratafia

noun·Advancedrare

Last updated

UK/ˌrætəˈfɪə/
US/ˌrætəˈfiːə/

Meanings

  1. noununcountable

    A sweet liqueur flavored with fruit kernels, almonds or herbs.

    Grammar: Usually uncountable for the drink: a glass of ratafia.

    Patterns

    • a glass of ratafia

    The family served homemade ratafia after dinner.

    She flavored the cake with a spoonful of ratafia.

    Ratafia was a popular drink in old French households.

  2. nouncountableBritish

    A small, light almond-flavored biscuit.

    Grammar: Countable: a ratafia, two ratafias.

    Patterns

    • ratafia biscuits

    The trifle was topped with crushed ratafia biscuits.

    She served tea with a plate of ratafias.

    Ratafias are often used in a traditional English trifle.

Word forms

pluralratafias

Common combinations

ratafia biscuit
A ratafia biscuit adds almond flavor to dessert.
cherry ratafia
The recipe called for cherry ratafia.
homemade ratafia
Her homemade ratafia was strong and sweet.
sip ratafia
They sipped ratafia by the fire.
ratafia liqueur
A ratafia liqueur can be made from fruit kernels.

Synonyms and how they differ

liqueur
Liqueur is the general category of sweet spirits, while ratafia is a specific kind.
amaretti
Amaretti are Italian almond biscuits, usually larger and chewier than ratafias.
cordial
Cordial in older English means a sweet strong drink, but is not necessarily nut-flavored like ratafia.

Word family

ratafias noun
plural form for the biscuits
liqueur noun
a sweet alcoholic drink

Commonly confused: ratafia or raffia?

ratafia vs raffia

Raffia is a fiber from palm leaves used for craft and baskets, not a drink or biscuit.

Practice

In English, ratafia can refer to ______.

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