| Term | Definition |
|---|
| rescind | cancel |
| resentment | indignation; bitterness; displeasure |
| reserve | self-control; formal but distant manner |
| residue | remainder balance |
| resignation | patient submissiveness; statement that one is quitting a job |
| resilient | elastic; having the power of springing back |
| resolution | determination |
| resolve (n) | determination; firmness of purpose |
| resolve (v) | decide; settle; solve |
| resonant | echoing; resounding; deep and full in sound |
| respiration | breathing; exhalation |
| respite | interval of relief; time for rest; delay in punishment |
| resplendent | dazzling; glorious; brilliant |
| responsiveness | sate of reacting readily to appeals, orders, etc |
| restitution | reparation; indemnification |
| restive | restlessly impatient; obstinately resisting control |
| restraint | moderation or self control; controlling force; restriction |
| resumption | taking up again; recommencement |
| resurge | rise again; flow to and fro |
| resuscitate | revive |
| retain | keep; employ |
| retaliation | repayment in kind ( usually for bad treatment) |
| retentive | holding; having a good memory |
| reticent | reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to silence |
| retinue | following; attendance |
| retiring | modest; shy |
| retort | quick, sharp reply |
| retract | withdraw; take back |
| retrench | cut down; economize |
| retribution | vengeance; compensation; punishment for offenses |
| retrieve | recover; find and bring on |
| retroactive | taking effect before its enactment ( as a law) or imposition ( as a tax) |
| retrograde | go backwards; degenerate |
| retrospective | looking back on the past |
| revelry | boisterous merrymaking |
| reverberate | echo; resound |
| reverent | respectful; worshipful |
| reverie | daydream; musing |
| revert | relapse; backslide; turn back to |
| revile | attack with abusive language; vilify |
| revoke | cancel; retract |
| revulsion | sudden violent change of feeling; negative reaction |
| rhapsodize | to speak and write in an exaggeratedly enthusiastic manner |
| rhetoric | art of effective communication; insincere or grandiloquent language |
| ribald | Characterized by or indulging in vulgar, lewd humor; wanton; profane |
| riddle | pierce with holes; permeate or spread throughout |
| rider | amendment or clause added to a legislative bill |
| rife | abundant; current |
| rift | opening; break |
| rig | fix or manipulate |
| rigid | stiff and unyielding; strict; hard and unbending |
| rigor | severity |
| rile | vex; irritate; muddy |
| riveting | capable of arousing and holding the attention; absorbing; engrossing |
| rivulet | small stream |
| robust | vigorous; strong |
| rococo | ornate; highly decorated |
| roil | to make liquids murky by stirring up sediments |
| roseate | rosy; optimistic |
| roster | list |
| rostrum | platform for speech making; pulpit |
| rote | repetition |
| rotunda | circular building or hall covered with a dome |
| rotundity | roundness; sonorousness of speech |
| rousing | lively; stirring |
| rout | stampede; drive out |
| rubble | fragments |
| rubric | title or heading ( in red print); directions for religious ceremony; protocol |
| ruddy | reddish; healthy looking |
| rudimentary | not developed; elementary; crude |
| rue | regret; lament; mourn |
| ruffian | bully; scoundrel |
| ruminate | chew over and over ( mentally or like cows physically); mull over; ponder |
| rummage | ransack; thoroughly search |
| runic | mysterious; set down in an ancient alphabet |
| ruse | trick; stratagem |
| rustic | pertaining to country people; uncouth |
| rusticate | banish to the country; dwell in the country |
| ruthless | pitiless; cruel |
| saboteur | one who commits sabotage; destroyer of property |
| saccharine | cloying sweet |
| sacrilegious | grossly irreverent toward what is held to be holy; desecrating; profane |
| sacrosanct | most sacred; inviolable |
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