Meaning & use
rave
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Meanings
verbintransitiveinformal
To speak or write about something with great excitement and strong praise.
Grammar: No object; usually followed by about or over: she raved about the food.
Patterns
- rave about something
- rave over something
Everyone I know has been raving about that new bakery.
Critics raved over the lead actor's performance.
He raved about the hotel for weeks after his trip.
verbintransitiveold-fashioned
To talk wildly or incoherently, as though angry or out of one's senses.
Grammar: No object; often paired with on or about: he raved on about nothing.
Patterns
- rave on about something
- rave at someone
The patient raved in his sleep because of the high fever.
A stranger was raving at passers-by outside the station.
She raved angrily about the cancelled flight until the clerk walked away.
nouncountableinformal
A large party with electronic dance music, often held in a warehouse or open field and lasting through the night.
Grammar: Countable; people go to a rave or to raves.
Patterns
- go to a rave
- a rave in somewhere
They spent the whole night at a rave in an abandoned warehouse.
Illegal raves were a major topic in the news in the early 1990s.
Her older brother used to go to raves every other weekend.
nouncountableinformal
A very enthusiastic review or reaction praising someone or something.
Grammar: Often used before another noun: a rave review.
Patterns
- a rave review
- get a rave from someone
The play got a rave in the local newspaper.
Her debut album earned rave reviews from every critic.
His cooking won a rave from the toughest judge on the panel.
Word forms
| third person singular | raves |
|---|---|
| past tense | raved |
| past participle | raved |
| -ing form | raving |
Common combinations
- rave about
- Customers rave about the friendly staff.
- rave review
- The restaurant received a rave review in the Sunday paper.
- rave and rant
- He would rave and rant about politics at every family dinner.
- go to a rave
- She went to a rave for the first time last summer.
- rave culture
- Rave culture grew out of underground dance clubs.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gush
- Gush suggests praise that is so effusive it sounds a little over the top, whereas rave can be sincere.
- enthuse
- Enthuse is slightly more formal and calm than rave, which sounds lively and informal.
- rant
- Rant means to speak angrily at length, so it matches the second sense of rave but not the praising sense.
- acclaim
- Acclaim is formal and is used for public praise, usually with an object, which rave does not take.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: rave or rant?
rave vs rant
To rant is to complain angrily at length. To rave about something is usually to praise it warmly.
Practice
Which preposition completes the sentence? Our guests raved ___ the dessert.
Choose one answer.
Rave takes about (or over) to introduce what is praised. 'At' would suggest shouting at the dessert.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rave”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.