A personal lexicon of unusual, archaic, scientific, and otherwise interesting words encountered in reading. Browse other letters from the Dictionary catalog.
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| rabble | a tumultuous crowd, a mob; the lowest and coarsest class of people |
| raceme | an inflorescence having stalked flowers arranged singly along an elongated unbranched axis |
| racemic | describes a compound that contains equal amounts of dextro- and laevo-rotatory forms and is therefore optically inactive toward polarized light. |
| Rachmaninoff, Sergei | 1873-1943. Russian-born composer, virtuoso pianist, romantic genre |
| raconteur | one who tells stories and anecdotes with skill and wit |
| radiation | any form of energy that can be transmitted through a medium without having an effect on that medium. |
| radioactivity | the spontaneous disintegration of unstable nuclei, accompanied by the emission of radiation of alpha particles, beta particles or gamma rays. |
| raffish | jaunty or sporty esp. in a flashy or vulgar manner |
| ragtime | (music) a style of jazz characterized by elaborately syncopated rhythm in the melody and a steadily accented accompaniment. |
| raison d’être | reason or justification for existing (“reason to be”) |
| rake | an immoral or dissolute person; a libertine |
| ramekin | small baking dish |
| rampart | fortification of embankment with parapet |
| ramshackle | rickety |
| rankle | tr.v. to cause persistent irritation or resentment; fester; intr.v. to embitter; irritate |
| rapacious | taking by force; plundering. Greedy; ravenous. Subsisting on live prey |
| rapier | slender sword with cuplike hilt. |
| rapine | plunder |
| rapprochement | n. a re-establishing of cordial relations; the state of reconciliation or of cordial relations. |
| Raptor | a bird of prey |
| ratiocinate | to reason methodically and logically |
| rebuke | tr.v. to criticize or reprove sharply; reprimand; to check or repress; n. |
| recalcitrant | adj. Marked by stubborn resistance to and defiance of authority or guidance. N. |
| recession1 | (law) the act of restoring possession to a former owner |
| recession2 | the act of withdrawing or going back. An extended decline in general business activity. The withdrawal in a line or file of participants in a ceremony, esp. clerics and show members after a church service. |
| recherché | uncommon, rare; exquisite, choice; overrefined, forced; pretentious, overblown |
| reck | to take heed of or to have caution |
| recondite | hard to understand; profound, abstruse; little known; obscure |
| redeem | to fulfill (a pledge, e.g.); to set free; rescue or ransom |
| redemption | the act of redeeming or the condition of having been redeemed |
| Redolent | having or emitting a fragrance; aromatic; suggestive; reminiscent |
| redoubtable | arousing fear or awe; formidable; worthy of respect or honor |
| redound | to have an effect; to become added or transferred; accrue |
| redux | |
| refractory | adj. difficult to melt or work; resistant to heat; n. material that has a high melting point. |
| regnant | reigning; ruling. Predominant. Widespread, prevalent |
| reify | to regard or treat (an abstraction) as if it had concrete or material existence |
| remonstrance | an expression of protest, complaint, or reproof, esp. a formal statement of grievances |
| remonstrate | tr.v. to say or plead in protest, objection, or reproof; intr.v. to reason or plead in protest; present an objection |
| renegade | n. one who rejects a religion, a cause, an allegiance, or a group for another, a deserter or an outlaw |
| repartee | a swift witty reply; conversation marked by the exchange of witty retorts |
| repertoire | the range or number of skills, aptitudes, or special accomplishments of a particular person or group |
| repine | v.i. fret, be discontented |
| reproach | tr.v. to express disapproval of, criticism of, or disappointment in (someone); to bring shame upon; disgrace; n. blame, rebuke; one that causes rebuke or blame; disgrace, shame |
| reproof | the act, an instance, or an expression of reproving; a rebuke |
| reprove | to voice on convey disapproval of; rebuke; to find fault with |
| repudiate | to reject the validity or authority of; to reject emphatically as unfounded, untrue, or unjust; to refuse to recognize or pay; to disown; to refuse to have any dealings with |
| repugnance | n. extreme dislike or aversion |
| requite | to make return for; repay; to make retaliation for; avenge; to make return to for a benefit or service or for an injury |
| res publica | a state, republic or commonwealth; the general public good or welfare |
| restive | uneasily impatient under restriction, opposition, criticism or delay. Resisting control; difficult to control. Refusing to move. |
| reticent | inclined to keep one’s thoughts, feelings, and personal affairs to oneself; restrained and reserved in style; reluctant, unwilling |
| reverie | n. a state of abstracted musing; daydreaming. |
| revile | to abuse verbally, rail at; vituperate, berate, rate, upbraid, scold |
| revue | n. a musical show consisting of skits, songs and dances, often satirizing current events, trends and personalities. |
| rheum | a watery or thin mucous discharge from the eyes or nose |
| Ribald | characterized by or indulging in vulgar, lewd humor; a vulgar, lewdly funny person |
| ribald | adj. characterized by or indulging in vulgar, lewd humor; n. a vulgar, lewdly funny person. |
| ribaldry | vulgar, lewdly humorous language or joking or an instance of it |
| rifle | v.tr. to search with intent to steal; to ransack or plunder; pillage; to rob; intr.v. to search vigorously |
| rigging | the system of ropes, chains, and tackle used to support and control the masts, sails and yards of a sailing vessel |
| right ascension | (Astronomy) the angular distance of a celestial body or point on the celestial sphere, measured eastward from the vernal equinox along the celestial equator to the hour circle of the body or point and expressed in degrees or hours |
| rigmarole | confused, rambling, or incoherent discourse; nonsense; a complicated, petty set of procedures |
| rile | to stir to anger; to stir up (liquid) |
| rimrock | |
| risible | adj. eliciting laughter; ludicrous; capable of laughing or inclined to laugh. |
| risque | suggestive of or bordering on indelicacy or impropriety. |
| rococo | n. a style of art marked by elaborate ornamentation; a very ornate style of speech or writing; adj. immoderately elaborate. syn. ornate, florid, flamboyant, baroque |
| Rodgers, Richard | 1902-1979. American composer, musical comedies. |
| roil | make (water) turbid by stirring; perturb, vex, annoy. |
| roister | intr.v. to engage in boisterous merrymaking; revel noisily. To behave in a blustering manner; swagger |
| rotifer | minute multicellular aquatic organisms having at the anterior end a wheellike ring of cilia. |
| rouge | to color as if with a facial cosmetic |
| rouse | v.tr. to arouse from slumber, apathy or depression; to excite, as to anger or action; stir up; intr.v. to awaken; to become active; n. the act or an instance of arousing |
| rubicund | (of face, complexion, or person in these respects) ruddy, high-colored |
| rubric | a class or category; a title, a name; heading or initial letter; an authoritative rule or direction; a short commentary or explanation covering a broad subject; red, written in red |
| rueful | inspiring pity or compassion; causing, feeling, or expressing sorrow or regret |
| ruff | collarlike projection around the neck as of feathers on a bird or of fur on a mammal. |
| Runt | an undersized animal, esp. the smallest animal of a litter; (offensive) a short person. |
| rut | estrus |
| rutabaga | edible European bulbous root. |
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