| rhombencephalon | n. | hindbrain | ||
| rhonchus | n. | wheezing or rattling sound made during breathing, caused by non-gaseous material in the lungs | ||
| rhyparography | n. | artistic depiction of sordid subjects | ||
| riband | n. | ribbon, esp. a decorative one | archaic | |
| rick | n. | stack of hay, corn, etc. | ||
| Rif | n. | (also Riff) mountainous region of northern Morocco; indigenous Berbers of this region | ||
| rigadoon | n. | lively two person dance with jumping steps popular in 17th and 18th c. France and England; music for such dance | ||
| riggish | adj. | promiscuous | ||
| ringent | adj. | gaping, grinning | ||
| risaldar | n. | Indian calvary rank of a native commander of a horse regiment | ||
| risible | adj. | laughable | ||
| rising | adv. | nearly, almost | informal | |
| rive | v. | to tear apart; to cleave | ||
| riverine | adj. | of or related to a river; situated upon a river | ||
| roach | n. | small freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae | ||
| roadstead | n. | somewhat sheltered area near shore where ships may anchor safe from weather | nautical | |
| rodomontade | vainglorious boast, extravagantly bragging speech | |||
| rogation | n. | profound prayer | ||
| roister | v. | to act in a swaggering or blustering manner; to revel rudely or noisily | ||
| roke | n. | fog, mist; drizzle | ||
| roman-fleuve | n. | long involved novel about lives of intricately connected people; sequence of related novels detailing (for example) lives of a single family across generations; very lengthy and wordy text | ||
| rondure | n. | supple roundness; orb, sphere | ||
| roneo | v. | to copy or produce a document by means of a mimeograph | ||
| rootle | v. | to dig with the snout | ||
| roquelaure | n. | knee-length men’s cloak worn in the 18th Century | ||
| rorqual | n. | baleen whale of the largest taxonomic family | ||
| rose cold | n. | rose fever, allergic condition triggered by rose pollen | ||
| rostral | adj. | adorned with the beaks of galleys; of the prows of ships; of a rostrum or speaker’s platform | ||
| round Robin Hood’s barn | adv. | by a circuitous route, in a roundabout manner | ||
| roundelay | n. | poem or song with repeated phrase, round; circle dance | ||
| roundsman | n. | [US] policeman having charge of a patrol; [Brtish] deliveryman with regular route | ||
| rubato | n. | expressive phrasing of music by use of non-strict tempo, often by slight speeding up of tempo followed by slowing to the original beat | ||
| rubefacient | adj. | causing redness or slight irritation | ||
| rubescent | adj. | becoming red, blushing | ||
| rubicund | adj. | red, reddish, red-faced | ||
| ruck | n. | 2 | pile or heap; mass of people | |
| ruck | n. | 1 | crease, fold, or wrinkle | |
| ruction | n. | disturbance, tumult, row | ||
| ruffle | v. | to swagger | ||
| rufous | adj. | brownish red, ferruginous | ||
| rugosity | n. | state of being wrinkled or corrugated | ||
| runagate | n. | runaway, fugitive, deserter; vagabond | ||
| runcible | adj. | nonsense word meaning nothing invented by Edward Lear | ||
| runcible spoon | n. | spoon with fork tines and a cutting edge, proto-spork | ||
| rundlet | n. | small barrel or cask; old British measurement equivalent to about 18 US gallons | ||
| runkle | v. | to crease or wrinkle | ||
| runnel | n. | small stream of water; small channel | ||
| Rupert | n. | junior officer | ||
| rushlight | n. | rush-candle, weak candle made from dipping dried pith of a rush into grease; the light emitted from a rush-candle | ||
| rusk | n. | dry biscuit, twice-baked bread |
