Words starting with R

154 words.

• rachiometer A device for measuring spinal curvature.
• radiole The spine of a sea urchin.
• rafale A short, intense burst of artillery fire from a number of weapons fired with the intention of overwh
• raggy Foggy, misty (and typically cold), with drizzling rain.
• rakhi An ornamental cotton wristband tied by a girl or woman on to the wrist of her brother, or of one who
• ramada A simple arbour or open porch, typically roofed with branches.
• ramage wildness, spirit, courage, ferocity
• rancheria A small settlement in the Americas, especially of Native Americans.
• rangoli A geometric or stylized design on the floor (or other flat surface) made using small coloured granul
• rantistirion A ritual sprinkler used in some Christian rites.
• rapine The seizure of someone's property by force; pillage; plunder.
• rappee A dark, coarse, strongly flavoured snuff.
• rasgueo A strumming technique associated with flamenco guitar playing; rasgueado.
• ratafia A liqueur or cordial flavored with peach or cherry kernels, bitter almonds, or other fruits.
• rathe Ripening or blooming early.
• ratiocinate To use the powers of the mind logically and methodically; to reason.
• ratiocination Reasoning, conscious deliberate inference; the activity or process of reasoning.
• ravelin A kind of outwork; a freestanding, wedge-shaped fortification used to split an attacking force as th
• ravenstone A place of execution; gallows
• razzmatazz Ambiguous or meaningless language.
• reave To plunder, pillage, rob, pirate, or remove.
• reaver One who reaves; a plunderer, marauder, or pillager.
• rebarbative Irritating, repellent.
• recamier An old-fashioned couch with headrest and footrest.
• recension A census, an enumeration, a review, a survey.
• recheat A series of notes blown on a horn as a signal in hunting to call back the hounds when they have lost
• recognizance A token; a symbol; a pledge.
• recomfort To console (someone); to comfort, look after.
• recond To put away; to set apart.
• redargue To disprove or refute (someone) in an argument.
• reddendum A clause in a deed by which some new thing is reserved out of what had been granted before; the clau
• reddition restoration; restitution: surrender
• redintegrate Restored to wholeness or a perfect state; renewed.
• redintegration Restoration to a whole or sound state.
• redoubt A small, temporary, military fortification.
• refection Mental or spiritual refreshment.
• refel To refute, disprove (an argument); to confute (someone).
• referendary One to whose decision a cause is referred; a referee.
• refoulement The involuntary sending of refugees or asylum seekers to their country of origin or another one, whe
• refrangible That may be refracted.
• refudiate To repudiate, to oppose.
• refulgent Resplendent, or shining brightly and radiantly.
• regality Royalty; sovereignty; sovereign jurisdiction.
• regardant With the head turned toward the back of the body.
• regio Any large area of a planet or moon that is strongly differentiated from neighbouring areas by colour
• regmacarp A fruit which, when mature, splits open to release its seeds; a dehiscent fruit.
• regmaglypt A small, shallow indentation or pit on the surface of a meteorite, resembling a thumbprint impressio
• regnant Reigning, ruling; currently holding power.
• regreet A return or exchange of salutations.
• regressus The entitlement of a debtor to have a co-debtor pay their share.
• reguerdon To recompense or reward.
• regulize To make or become regular; regularize.
• reification The consideration of an abstract thing as if it were concrete, or of an inanimate object as if it we
• religiolect A language variety with its own history and development, which is used by a religious community.
• religiophobia A fear or hatred of religion, religious faith, religious people or religious organizations.
• remanent Remaining or persisting especially after an electrical or magnetic influence is removed.
• remeid Remedy. — Legal redress of a wrong.
• remittent Alternately increasing and decreasing in severity or intensity.
• remonstrance A remonstration; disapproval; a formal, usually written, objection or protest.
• renay To renounce (one’s faith or god), to apostasize from.
• rencounter To meet, encounter, come into contact with.
• renovize To renovate or modernize.
• renverse Backwards, contourné, facing the opposite direction (sinister/dexter) than usual.
• reparate Restored to a state of good repair; returned to working order.
• repetitor A private instructor in a repetitorium.
• repetitorium A private class that augments a university course of studies by reviewing material, typically found
• replevy To return goods to their rightful owner by replevin; to recover goods.
• reposit To cause to rest or stay in a certain place; to place, put, or deposit.
• reprehend To criticize, to reprove.
• representamen A representation; a thing serving to represent something.
• repullulate To bud or sprout again.
• requite To repay (a debt owed); specifically, to recompense or reward someone for (a favour, a service rende
• rerebrace Armour for the upper part of the arm.
• reredos A screen or decoration behind the altar in a church, usually depicting religious iconography or imag
• resaca A dry river bed, a former channel of the Rio Grande, found in the southern half of Cameron County, T
• resile To start back; to recoil; to recede from a purpose.
• resiliate To exit, cancel, or draw back from a lease or contract.
• resipiscence Recognition of one or more past mistakes, especially with a desire to improve in the future; repenta
• responsor A receiver used in conjunction with an interrogator to receive and interpret signals from a transpon
• ressaldar The native captain of an Indian cavalry regiment.
• restitute To restore (something) to its former condition.
• resurrectionist One who sells cadavers to anatomists, surgeons, etc., especially by exhuming corpses from graves; a
• retable A table or shelf behind an altar, on which are placed images or holy objects.
• retcon A fictional setting in which a new storyline explains or changes a previous event or attaches a new
• retractation retraction (of something previously said)
• retrait A picture or other visual representation.
• retribute To pay back; to give in return, as payment, reward, or punishment; to requite.
• retrocession The transfer of risk from one reinsurer to another.
• retroduction A system of research or problem-solving based on abduction; A dialectic method of working from exist
• retrosexual A man who embraces traditional masculinity in his dress and behavior.
• retroware Old software/hardware.
• retund To blunt; to make less sharp.
• revanchism The political policy of endeavouring to regain lost territory.
• revendicate To reclaim; to demand the restoration of (something) as a right, or to maintain a claim to (a proper
• reverberant Turned up sigmoidally, with the end pointing outward; reboundant.
• revertent A remedy which restores the natural order of the inverted irritative motions in the animal system
• revest To dress (a priest or other religious figure) in ritual garments, especially to celebrate Mass or an
• revivify To reanimate, bring back to life.
• rhabdomancy Divination with wands or rods, especially to use a divining rod to find things below the ground.
• rhason The clerical garb worn in the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches.
• rhetorolect A type of discourse that has a characteristic configuration of topics, themes, and arguments.
• rhonchus A dry rattling sound heard during breathing, due to deposits in the bronchial tubes.
• rhotacism An exaggerated use of the sound of the letter R.
• rhytiphobia The fear of getting wrinkles.
• richdom Wealth; riches; richness; prosperity.
• ricket To move rapidly and uncertainly, often in a noisy, clamorous, or reckless manner.
• rickle A loose, disordered collection of things; a heap; a jumble.
• rideau A fortification or barrier such as a small earthen mound or ridge, a file of troops, etc.
• ridibund Inclined to and easily brought to laughter; happy.
• ridotto A public ball, typically a masquerade, popular in the 18th century.
• rifugio A hut in the Italian mountains.
• rightwise Rightly (correctly or justly); rightfully.
• rigorist Someone who takes the strictest interpretation of a law, religious injunction etc.
• ringle A CD single which includes a shortened ringtone version.
• riprap An underwater bank seen as a danger to shipping.
• robata A charcoal grill used to prepare Japanese food for customers seated around the cooking area.
• robinsonade A genre of adventure fiction where a hero is stranded alone on a desert island and has to survive wi
• rocambolesque Fantastic, incredible, fabulous.
• rochet A white vestment, worn by a bishop, similar to a surplice but with narrower sleeves, extending eithe
• rodomontade Vain boasting; a rant; pretentious behaviour.
• rodomontado A brag or boast; a rodomontade.
• rogation A deeply serious and somber prayer or entreaty.
• romantasy A genre of literature combining elements of both romance and fantasy.
• rondure A graceful curvature or round object; a ring; a sphere.
• roquelaure A lined and trimmed cloak that reaches to the knees, often with bright-coloured lining and trimmed w
• roscid Containing or consisting of dew; dewy.
• rosemaling A Norwegian style of stylized floral decoration with scrollwork and geometric elements.
• roshambo To play a game of roshambo in order to decide a point of contention.
• rostellum A small beak-like process or extension; a small rostrum.
• rotan A long rattan cane used for corporal punishment.
• rottingness Something which is undergoing rot or decomposition.
• rougarou A werewolf or werewolf-like creature said to inhabit the swamps in Louisiana (and sometimes French-C
• roundlet A small disk, circle or other round object.
• roust A strong tide or current, especially in a narrow channel.
• routon A 128-dimensional hypercomplex number.
• rowel To use a rowel on (something), especially to drain fluid.
• rowen A second crop of hay (within a growing season).
• rubatosis The unsettling awareness of one's own heartbeat
• rubefacient A substance for topical application that produces redness of the skin, e.g. by dilating the capillar
• rubicund Possessing a red complexion; ruddy.
• rubine A reddish aniline dye.
• ruckus A raucous disturbance and/or commotion.
• ruddleman Someone who deals in ruddle (red ochre), usually itinerant and red-stained
• ruderal That grows in rubbish or poor soil.
• rufescent Becoming reddish; tinged with red.
• ruinate To reduce to ruins; to destroy.
• runcible A nonce word used for humorous effect.
• runnel To create channels for directing the flow of liquid.
• rupophobia The fear of rubbish or dirt.
• ruption A breaking or bursting open; breach; rupture.
• rusalka A female water spirit that leads handsome men to their deaths underwater.
• rutch To slide; to scooch; to shuffle.
• rutilant Shining or glowing with a red colour or light.
• rutilate To shine; to emit rays of light.