Resolute (REZ uh loot) - determined; firm; unwavering
Example: Someone who sticks to his New Year's resolution is resolute. Redolent (RED uh lunt) - fragrant
Example: The air in autumn is redolent of wood smoke and fallen leaves. Reiterate (ree IT uh rayt) - to say again; to repeat
Example: The candidate had reiterated his position so many times on the campaign trail that he sometimes even muttered it in his sleep. Recalcitrant (ri KAL suh trunt) - stubbornly defiant of authority or control; disobedient
Example: The country was in turmoil, but the recalcitrant dictator refused even to listen to the pleas of the international representatives. Robust (roh BUST) - strong and healthy; vigorous
Example: The hundred-year-old man was still robust. Every morning he ran several miles down to the ocean and jumped in. Relentless (ri LENT lis) - continuous; unstoppable
Example: The insatiable rabbit was relentless, it ate and ate until nothing was left in the botanical garden. Rebuke (ri BYOOK) - to criticize sharply
Example: The judge rebuked the convicted murderer for chopping up so many people and burying them in the woods. Relegate (REL uh gayt) - to banish; to send away
Example: The most junior of the junior executives was relegated to a tiny, windowless office that had once been a broom closet. Rancor (RANG kur) - bitter, long-lasting ill will or resentment
Example: The mutual rancor felt by the two nations eventually led to war. Replete (ri PLEET) - completely filled; abounding
Example: The once polluted stream was now replete with fish of every description. Recondite (REK un dyte) - hard to understand; over one's head
Example: The philosopher's thesis was so recondite that I couldn't get
past the first two sentences. Remonstrate (ri MAHN strayt)
Definition: to argue against; to protest; to raise objections
Sentence: My boss remonstrated with me for telling all the secretaries
they could take the rest of the week off. Reprove (ri PROOV)
Definition: to criticize mildly
Sentence: My wife reproved me for leaving my dirty dish in the sink. Resolute (REZ uh loot)
Definition: determined; firm; unwavering
Sentence: Someone who sticks to his New Year's resolution is resolute. Redolent (RED uh lunt)
Definition: fragrant
Sentence: The air in autumn is redolent of wood smoke and fallen leaves. Recalcitrant (ri KAL suh trunt)
Definition: stubbornly defiant of authority or control; disobedient
Sentence: The country was in turmoil, but the recalcitrant dictator
refused even to listen to the pleas of the international representatives. Relegate (REL uh gayt)
Definition: to banish; to send away
Sentence: The most junior of the junior executives was relegated to a
tiny, windowless office that had once been a broom closet. Rancor (RANG kur)
Definition: bitter, long-lasting ill will or resentment
Sentence: The mutual rancor felt by the two nations eventually led to war. Replete (ri PLEET)
Definition: completely filled; abounding
Sentence: The once polluted stream was now replete with fish of every
description. Recondite (REK un dyte)
Definition: hard to understand; over one's head
Sentence: The philosopher's thesis was so recondite that I couldn't get
past the first two sentences. Reparation (rep uh RAY shun)
Definition: paying back; making amends; compensation
Sentence: To make a reparation is to repair some damage that has occurred. Rapacious (ruh PAY shus)
Definition: greedy; plundering; avaricious
Sentence: Wall Street investment bankers are often accused of being
rapacious, but they claim they are performing a valuable economic
function. Respite (RES pit )
Definition: a period of rest or relief
Sentence: We worked without respite from five in the morning until five
in the afternoon. Rogue (rohg)
Definition: a criminally dishonest person; a scoundrel
Sentence: A rogue is someone who can't be trusted. Rhetoric (RET ur ik)
Definition: the art of formal speaking or writing; inflated discourse
Sentence: A talented public speaker might be said to be skilled in
rhetoric. Ramification (ram uh fuh KAY shun)
Definition: a consequence; a branching out
Sentence: A tree could be said to ramify, or branch out, as it grows. Replenish (ri PLEN ish)
Definition: to fill again; to resupply; to restore
Sentence: After the big Thanksgiving meal, everyone felt replenished. Reprehensible (rep ri HEN suh bul)
Definition: worthy of blame or censure
Sentence: He put the cat in the laundry chute, tied the dog to the
chimney, and committed several other reprehensible acts. Refute (ri FYOOT)
Definition: to prove to be false; to disprove
Sentence: His expensive suit and imported shoes clearly refuted his claim
that he was poor. Repudiate (ri PYOO dee ayt)
Definition: to reject; to renounce; to disown; to have nothing to do with
Sentence: Hoping to receive a lighter sentence, the convicted gangster
repudiated his former connection with the mob. Rustic (RUS tik) - rural; lacking urban comforts or sophistication;
primitive
Example: Life in the log cabin was too rustic for Leah; she missed hot
showers, cold beer, and electricity. Recrimination (ri krim uh NAY tion) - a bitter counteraccusation, or the
act of making a bitter counteraccusation
Example: Mary was full of recrimination. When I accused her of stealing
my pen, she angrily accused me of being careless, evil, and stupid. Remonstrate (ri MAHN strayt) - to argue against; to protest; to raise
objections
Example: My boss remonstrated with me for telling all the secretaries
they could take the rest of the week off. Reproach (ri PROHCH) - to scold, usually in disappointment; to blame; to
disgrace
Example: My doctor reproached me for gaining twenty pounds after he had
advised me to lose fifteen. Reprove (ri PROOV) - to criticize mildly
Example: My wife reproved me for leaving my dirty dish in the sink. Repercussion (ree pur KUSH un) - a consequence; an indirect effect
Example: One repercussion of the new tax law was that accountants found
themselves with a lot of new business. Rigorous (RIG ur us) - strict; harsh; severe
Example: Our exercise program was rigorous but effective. Reclusive (ri KLOOS iv) - hermitlike; withdrawn from society
Example: Our new neighbors were so reclusive that we didn't even meet
them until a full year after they had moved in. Renounce (ri NOWNCE) - to give up formally or resign; to disown; to have
nothing to do with anymore
Example: The presidential candidate renounced his manager after it was
revealed that the zealous manager had tried to murder the candidate's
opponent in the primary. Rudimentary (roo duh MEN tuh ree) - basic; crude; unformed or undeveloped
Example: The primitive tribe's tools were very rudimentary. In fact, they
looked more like rocks than tools. Reprisal (ri PRYE zul) - a military action undertaken in revenge for
another; an act of taking an eye for an eye
Example: The raid on the Iranian oil-drilling platform was a reprisal for
the Iranians' earlier attack on the American tanker. Relinquish (ri LING kwish) - to release or let go of; to surrender; to
stop doing
Example: The retiring president relinquished control of the company only
with the greatest reluctance. Recant (ri KANT) - to publicly take back and deny (something previously
said or believed); to openly confess error
Example: The secret police tortured the intellectual for a week, by
tickling his feet with a feather duster, until he finally recanted. Ruminate (ROO muh nayt) - to contemplate; to ponder; to mull over
Example: The teacher's comment about the causes of weather set me to ruminating about what a nice day it was and to wishing that I were outside. Reciprocal (ri SIP ruh kul) - mutual; shared; interchangeable
Example: Their hatred was reciprocal; they hatred each other. Rebut (ri BUT) - to contradict; to argue in opposition to; to prove to be false
Example: They all thought I was crazy, but none of them could rebut my argument. Reparation (rep uh RAY shun) - paying back; making amends; compensation
Example: To make a reparation is to repair some damage that has occurred. Rapacious (ruh PAY shus) - greedy; plundering; avaricious
Example: Wall Street investment bankers are often accused of being rapacious, but they claim they are performing a valuable economic function. Respite (RES pit ) - a period of rest or relief
Example: We worked without respite from five in the morning until five in the afternoon. Rogue (rohg) - a criminally dishonest person; a scoundrel
Example: A rogue is someone who can't be trusted. Rhetoric (RET ur ik) - the art of formal speaking or writing; inflated
discourse
Example: A talented public speaker might be said to be skilled in
rhetoric. Ramification (ram uh fuh KAY shun) - a consequence; a branching out
Example: A tree could be said to ramify, or branch out, as it grows. Replenish (ri PLEN ish) - to fill again; to resupply; to restore
Example: After the big Thanksgiving meal, everyone felt replenished.