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"rather" is also used as a crossword clue. If that's what you saw, the answer is often somewhat (8 letters).
Definitions
To a certain degree; preferably
Word origin
From Middle English rather, from Old English hraþor, comparative of hraþe (“soon, early, fast”). More at rathe. Cognate with Dutch radder (“faster”), comparative of Dutch rad (“fast; quick”), German Low German radd, ratt (“rashly; quickly; hastily”), German gerade (“even; straight; direct”). By surface analysis, rathe + -er.
Used in a sentence
“I'd rather not have spent all the money, but it really was an emergency.”
“I would like this one rather than the other one.”
“I s'pose we'd better clean the kitchen, but we had much rather not do anything right now.”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“To some degree”6 letters
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