What does "rave" mean?
An enthusiastic review (such as of a play).
Rave
/ɹeɪv/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An enthusiastic review (such as of a play).
- Grammar: rave is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abuse, acclaim, acclaim, accolade.
- Useful contrasts: articulate, cohere, condemn.
- Usage evidence: This restaurant lives up to all the rave reviews it got.
How to use "rave"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "rave" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "rave" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "rave" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "rave" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "rave" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abuse" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "rave", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An enthusiastic review (such as of a play). countable, informal
"The first-night audience, yes. The first-night reviewers, not exactly. The notices have so far been mixed, only The Financial Times having delivered itself of an unequivocal rave."
- 2 One of the upper side pieces of the frame of a wagon body or a sleigh.
"It was astonishing to see how he had gnawed the rave of the sled."
- 3 an extravagantly enthusiastic review wordnet
- 4 An all-night dance party with electronic dance music (techno, trance, drum and bass etc.) in small unknown clubs. countable, uncountable
- 5 a dance party that lasts all night and electronically synthesized music is played wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 The genres of electronic dance music made to be played in rave parties. uncountable
"Maybe I wear baggies / And white socks with flip-flops / Maybe I don't like listening to rave / And I'm not on the social mountaintops"
Verb
- 1 To be mentally unclear; to be delirious; to talk or act irrationally; to be wild, furious, or raging. intransitive
"Have I not cause to rave and beat my breast?"
- 2 To wander or roam. Newfoundland, Scotland, intransitive
- 3 simple past of rive form-of, obsolete, past
- 4 praise enthusiastically wordnet
- 5 To speak or write wildly or incoherently. intransitive
""She is in trance. Your daughter, sir, is a powerful medium." "A medium! You are raving.""
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 To stray or err. Newfoundland, Scotland, intransitive
- 7 talk in a noisy, excited, or declamatory manner wordnet
- 8 To talk with excessive enthusiasm, passion or excitement. intransitive
"He raved about her beauty."
- 9 participate in an all-night techno dance party wordnet
- 10 To rush wildly or furiously. obsolete
"Under a mightie rocke, gainst which do rave The roaring billowes in their proud disdaine"
- 11 To attend a rave (dance party). intransitive
"The situation with Tommy's parents made me grateful my parents hadn't caught on to my partying that summer. How had I gotten away with raving every weekend, and sometimes on Thursday nights too?"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"This restaurant lives up to all the rave reviews it got."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "rave"?
Common synonyms include: abuse, acclaim, acclaim, accolade, admiration, all-night party.
How do you use "rave" in a sentence?
This restaurant lives up to all the rave reviews it got.
How do you pronounce "rave"?
Pronounced /ɹeɪv/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English raven (“to rave; talk like a madman”), from Old French raver, variant of resver, of uncertain origin. Compare rave below, and rove.
Etymology 2
From northern Middle English raven, from Old Norse ráfa (“to wander, roam”), of uncertain and obscure origin. Perhaps from a dissimilation of Proto-Germanic *wab(b)ōną (“to sway, waver, swing, shake, wobble, totter, reel, careen”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to move, swarm, waft”). Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk rava (“to wander, be delirious”). Doublet of rove. Compare also Middle Dutch reven (“to utter nonsense, rave, be drowsy”) (whence modern Dutch revelen (“to rave, talk nonsense”), Middle Low German rēven (“to be crazy, think and talk nonsensically”), Middle High German reben (“to move about, dream, be confused”) (compare Alemannic German räbeln (“to make loud noise”)).
Etymology 3
English dialect raves, or rathes (“a frame laid on a wagon, for carrying hay, etc.”).