65 words starting with R

• rabble noun

  a noisy, disorderly crowd of people

  A rabble of excited fans pushed toward the gate before the cricket match.

  Like mob, horde

• raconteur noun

  a person who tells stories in a skillful and amusing way

  Our uncle is a fine raconteur, and everyone gathers to hear his travel tales.

  Like storyteller, narrator

• raillery noun

  good-natured teasing or joking

  The friends’ raillery about his bright orange jacket made him laugh too.

  Like banter, teasing, ribbing

• rakish adjective

  dashing and stylish in a carefree, slightly daring way

  He wore his cap at a rakish angle for the school photo.

  Like jaunty, dashing, debonair

• ramify verb

  to spread out into branches or separate parts

  The river ramifies into many small channels before it reaches the plains.

  Like branch, divide, fork

• rancid adjective

  smelling or tasting bad because of old, spoiled fat or oil

  The butter left out all week had turned rancid.

  Like spoiled, rank, off

• rapacious adjective

  greedily wanting to take more than one needs, especially money or goods

  The rapacious traders bought all the rice and sold it at triple the price.

  Like greedy, grasping, avaricious

• rapacity noun

  strong greed, especially for money or possessions

  The rapacity of the timber company left the hillside bare of trees.

  Like greed, avarice, cupidity

• rapprochement noun

  the return of friendly relations between groups after disagreement

  After years of rivalry, the two schools reached a rapprochement and held a joint science fair.

  Like reconciliation, détente

• rarefied adjective

  (of air) thin, with less oxygen; understood only by a small, select group

  Climbers on Everest must adjust to the rarefied air near the summit.

  Like thin, exclusive, lofty

• recalcitrant adjective

  stubbornly refusing to obey or cooperate

  The recalcitrant goat refused to cross the little wooden bridge.

  Like defiant, obstinate, uncooperative

• recant verb

  to publicly take back a statement or belief one held before

  Galileo was pressured to recant his view that the Earth moves around the Sun.

  Like retract, renounce, withdraw

• recidivism noun

  the habit of returning to bad behavior, especially crime, after punishment

  The program aims to reduce recidivism by teaching former prisoners useful job skills.

  Like relapse, backsliding

• recompense noun

  payment or reward for loss, work, or effort

  The volunteers received a hot meal as recompense for cleaning the riverbank.

  Like compensation, reward, repayment

• recondite adjective

  little known and hard to understand; requiring special knowledge

  The professor’s talk on recondite points of ancient grammar lost most of the audience.

  Like obscure, abstruse, arcane

• recrimination noun

  an accusation made in return against someone who has accused you

  After the team lost, there were angry recriminations about who missed the easy catch.

  Like counteraccusation, blame

• recrudescence noun

  a fresh outbreak of something bad after a quiet period

  Doctors warned of a recrudescence of flu cases when the cold weather returned.

  Like recurrence, resurgence, return

• rectitude noun

  honest, morally correct behavior

  The judge was respected throughout the district for her rectitude.

  Like integrity, honesty, uprightness

• recumbent adjective

  lying down, especially in a relaxed position

  The recumbent cows rested in the shade of the big pipal tree.

  Like reclining, lying

• redact verb

  to remove or black out private parts of a document before it is shared

  The office redacted the phone numbers before publishing the list of volunteers.

  Like censor, black out

• redolent adjective

  strongly smelling of something; strongly suggesting a memory or feeling

  The kitchen was redolent of cardamom and fresh bread.

  Like fragrant, evocative, reminiscent

• redoubtable adjective

  worthy of respect or fear because of strength or skill

  The redoubtable chess champion had not lost a game in three years.

  Like formidable, impressive, mighty

• redress verb

  to correct a wrong or make things fair again

  The school redressed the mistake by giving the student the prize she had earned.

  Like remedy, rectify, correct

• refractory adjective

  stubborn and hard to control; resistant to heat or treatment

  The refractory mule would not move until the farmer offered it some grass.

  Like unmanageable, stubborn, intractable

• refulgent adjective

  shining very brightly

  The refulgent snow peaks glowed at sunrise above Pokhara.

  Like radiant, brilliant, gleaming

• rejoinder noun

  a quick, sharp reply, especially to an objection

  When told the plan was too hard, she gave a cheerful rejoinder: “Then let’s start early.”

  Like retort, reply, riposte

• remiss adjective

  careless about doing one’s duty

  It was remiss of me not to water the plants while you were away.

  Like negligent, careless, lax

• remonstrance noun

  a strong protest or complaint against something

  Despite the parents’ remonstrance, the school kept the early start time.

  Like protest, objection, complaint

• remonstrate verb

  to protest strongly and argue against something

  The players remonstrated with the referee after the goal was disallowed.

  Like protest, object, complain

• renege verb

  to go back on a promise or agreement

  He reneged on his promise to help paint the classroom.

  Like default, back out

• repartee noun

  quick, witty conversation full of clever replies

  The two old friends enjoyed a lively repartee over tea.

  Like banter, wit, badinage

• repast noun

  a meal (a formal or old-fashioned word)

  After the puja, the family shared a simple repast of rice, lentils and pickles.

  Like meal

• repine verb

  to feel or show discontent; to fret

  Instead of repining over the rainy day, the children built a fort indoors.

  Like fret, complain, mope

• reprehend verb

  to criticize or blame someone sharply

  The coach reprehended the players for arriving late to practice.

  Like rebuke, reprove, censure

• reprisal noun

  an act of getting back at someone for something they did

  The rival team’s prank was a reprisal for the joke played on them last year.

  Like retaliation, revenge, retribution

• reprobate noun

  a person of bad character who is not sorry for it

  In the play, the reprobate uncle gambles away the family’s savings and laughs about it.

  Like rogue, scoundrel, miscreant

• reprobation noun

  strong disapproval

  The plan to cut down the old trees met with general reprobation.

  Like condemnation, disapproval, censure

• repudiate verb

  to refuse to accept or support; to reject firmly

  The scientist repudiated the claim that her results had been faked.

  Like reject, disown, renounce

• requite verb

  to return a favor, kindness, or feeling in kind

  She requited her neighbors’ help by baking them a cake.

  Like repay, reciprocate, return

• rescind verb

  to officially cancel a law, order, or decision

  The school rescinded the new uniform rule after many parents objected.

  Like revoke, repeal, annul

• resplendent adjective

  very bright and beautiful in a striking way

  The bride’s family looked resplendent in their festival clothes.

  Like dazzling, splendid, radiant

• restive adjective

  restless and impatient, especially under control or delay

  The audience grew restive when the concert started an hour late.

  Like restless, fidgety, impatient

• reticence noun

  the habit of not saying much or not sharing one’s thoughts

  Her reticence in class hid how much she really knew about astronomy.

  Like reserve, restraint, taciturnity

• retinue noun

  a group of helpers or followers who travel with an important person

  The king arrived in Bhaktapur with a large retinue of guards and servants.

  Like entourage, train, escort

• retrench verb

  to cut costs or reduce spending

  The club had to retrench and hold its annual dinner at the school hall.

  Like economize, cut back, reduce

• retrograde adjective

  moving backward; returning to a worse or earlier state

  Seen from Earth, Mars sometimes appears to make a retrograde loop across the sky.

  Like backward, regressive, reverse

• revile verb

  to criticize someone in an angry, insulting way

  Some critics reviled the new building, but visitors loved it.

  Like denounce, berate, vilify

• rhapsodize verb

  to talk or write about something with great enthusiasm

  Grandma rhapsodized about the mangoes she ate as a girl in the Terai.

  Like enthuse, gush, rave

• ribald adjective

  humorous in a rude or vulgar way

  The comedian’s ribald jokes were not suitable for the school assembly.

  Like bawdy, coarse, vulgar

• ribaldry noun

  rude, vulgar joking or talk

  The teacher stopped the ribaldry in the back row before the guests arrived.

  Like vulgarity, bawdiness, crudeness

• rife adjective

  widespread, especially of something bad; full of something

  The old report was rife with spelling mistakes.

  Like widespread, rampant, full

• rift noun

  a crack or split in rock or ground; a serious break in a friendship

  The Great Rift Valley formed where the African plate is slowly pulling apart.

  Like crack, split, breach

• rile verb

  to make someone annoyed or irritated

  It riles my brother when someone leaves the cap off the toothpaste.

  Like irritate, annoy, vex

• riposte noun

  a quick, clever reply to a criticism or remark

  Her witty riposte made even the speaker who teased her laugh.

  Like retort, rejoinder, comeback

• risible adjective

  so silly it makes people laugh

  The idea that the Moon is made of cheese is risible.

  Like laughable, ridiculous, absurd

• rococo adjective

  very elaborate and ornate in decoration, in an 18th-century European style

  The palace ceiling was covered in rococo swirls of gold and pink.

  Like ornate, florid, elaborate

• roil verb

  to stir up water and make it muddy; to disturb or upset

  Heavy rain roiled the river, turning it brown.

  Like churn, agitate, stir

• rotund adjective

  round and plump

  The rotund little puppy waddled after the children.

  Like plump, round, chubby

• rubric noun

  a set of rules or guidelines, especially for grading work

  The teacher gave us a rubric showing how our science projects would be marked.

  Like guidelines, criteria

• rue verb

  to regret something one did and wish it undone

  She rued the day she lent her favorite book to her cousin.

  Like regret, lament, repent

• rueful adjective

  showing gentle regret, often with a little humor

  He gave a rueful smile when he saw he had worn odd socks.

  Like regretful, sheepish, apologetic

• ruminate verb

  to think deeply about something for a long time; (of cows) to chew the cud

  She ruminated on the puzzle all evening before finding the answer.

  Like ponder, mull, contemplate

• ruminative adjective

  thoughtful and inclined to think deeply

  In a ruminative mood, the old man watched the clouds over the hills.

  Like contemplative, reflective, pensive

• ruse noun

  a clever trick used to fool someone

  The surprise party was hidden by a ruse about a trip to the dentist.

  Like trick, ploy, stratagem

• rusticate verb

  to go to live in the countryside

  After retiring, my grandparents rusticated in a village near Dhulikhel.