to some (great or small) extent; "it was rather cold"; "the party was rather nice"; "the knife is rather dull"; "I rather regret that I cannot attend"; "He's rather good at playing the cello"; "he is kind of shy"
on the contrary; "rather than disappoint the children, he did two quick tricks before he left"; "he didn't call; rather (or instead), he wrote her a letter"; "used English terms instead of Latin ones"
to a small degree or extent; "his arguments were somewhat self-contradictory"; "the children argued because one slice of cake was slightly larger than the other"
in a high position or level or rank; "details known by only a few highly placed persons"
to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect; "highly successful"; "He spoke highly of her"; "does not think highly of his writing"; "extremely interesting"
feeling or caused to feel uneasy and self-conscious; "felt abashed at the extravagant praise"; "chagrined at the poor sales of his book"; "was embarrassed by her child's tantrums"
(philosophy) a philosophical theory as to what is beautiful; "he despised the esthetic of minimalism"
concerning or characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste; "the aesthetic faculties"; "an aesthetic person"; "aesthetic feeling"; "the illustrations made the book an aesthetic success"