Vocabulary - List 9 (R-S)

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Vocab List - 9 ( R-S)

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 { R }

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** rabid

(n.) a disease affecting animals

(adj.); furious; with extreme anger;

* (n.) Discovering that the dog was rabid, the mail carrier knew he’d have to get a shot.

* (adj.) He’s been a rabid sports fan for as long as I have known him.

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** raconteur

(n.) a person skilled at telling stories

* Our entertainment was a raconteur who told a story of talking animals.

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** ramification

(n.) the arrangement of branches; consequence

* One of the ramifications of driving fast is getting a speeding ticket.

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** rampant

(adj.) growing unchecked; widespread

* Social unrest was rampant because of the lack of food available to the people.

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** rampart

(n.) a defensive wall;

(v.) to defend

* (n) The rampart kept the attackers from coming farther to the castle.

* (v) The village was towns ramparted by a huge stone wall.

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** rancid

(adj.) having a bad odor

* Left out too long, the meat turned rancid.

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** rancor

(n.) strong ill will; enmity

* Her rancor for the man was evident in her hateful expression. 

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** rant

(v.) to speak in a loud, pompous manner; rave

* He disputed the bill with the shipper,ranting that he was dealing with thieves.

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** rapacious

(adj.) using force to take

* Rapacious actions were needed to take the gun from the intruder.

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** rarefy

(v.) to make thin, less compact, or less dense; to purify or refine.

* Hunters were called in to rarefy the deer population.

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** ratify

(v.) to make valid; confirm

* The Senate ratified the new law that would prohibit companies from discriminating according to race in their hiring practices.

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** rationalize

(v.) to offer reasons for; account for on rational grounds

* His daughter attempted to rationalize why she had dropped out of college, but she could not give any good reasons.

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** raucous

(adj.) disagreeable to the sense of hearing; harsh; hoarse

* The raucous protesters stayed on the street corner all night, shouting their disdain for the whale killers.

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** raze

(v.) to scrape or shave off; to obliterate or tear down completely

* The plow will raze the ice from the road surface. 

* They will raze the old Las Vegas hotel to make room for a $2.5 billion gambling palace.

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** realm

(n.) an area; sphere of activity

* In the realm of health care, the issue of who pays and how is never far from the surface.

* The bounding islands were added to the realm of the kingdom.

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** rebuff

(n.) a blunt refusal to offered help

* The rebuff of her aid plan came as a shock.

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** rebuttal

(n.) refutation

* The lawyer’s rebuttal to the judge’s sentencing was to present more evidence to the case.

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** recalcitrant

(adj.) stubbornly rebellious

* The boy became recalcitrant when the curfew was enforced. 

* The recalcitrant youth dyed her hair purple, dropped out of school, and generally worked hard at doing whatever others did not want her to do.

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** recession

(n.) withdrawal; economic downturn

* Oscar’s gum recession left him with sensitive teeth. 

* Soaring unemployment in the nation’s industrial belt triggered
recession.

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** recidivism

(n.) habitual or chronic relapse of criminal or antisocial offenses

* Even after intense therapy the parolee experienced several episodes of recidivism, and was eventually sent back to prison.

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** reciprocal

(adj.) mutual;

* having the same relationship to each other

* Although his first child was adopted, she had a reciprocal
relationship with her father.

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** recluse

(adj.) solitary;

(n.) a person who lives secluded

* (adj.) His recluse life seems to make him happy.

* (n.) Howard Hughes, among the most famous and enigmatic figures of the 20th century, ultimately retreated to a life as a recluse.

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** recondite

(adj.) hard to understand; concealed

* The students were dumbfounded by the recondite topic. 

* Many scientific theories are recondite, and therefore not known at all by the general public.

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** rectify

(v.) to correct

* The service manager rectified the shipping mistake by refunding the customer’s money.

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** recumbent

(adj.) resting

** The recumbent puppy stirred.

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** recusant

(adj.) disobedient of authority

* Recusant inmates may be denied privileges.

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** redolent

(adj.) sweet-smelling; having the odor of a particular thing

* The redolent aroma of the pie tempted everyone. 

* The restaurant was redolent with the smell of spices.

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** redundant

(adj.) wordy; repetitive; unnecessary to the meaning

* The redundant lecture of the professor repeated the lesson in the text. 

* Her comments were both redundant and sarcastic. 

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** refurbish

(v.) to make new; renovate

* The Newsomes are refurbishing their old colonial home with the help of an interior designer.

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** refute

(v.) challenge; disprove

* He refuted the proposal, deeming it unfair

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** regal

(adj.) royal; grand

* The regal home was lavishly decorated and furnished with European antiques.

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** reiterate

(v.) to repeat again

* If you did not hear me the first time, I will reiterate the directions for you.

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** relegate

(v.) banish; put to a lower position ; demotion

* For harassing a suspect the officer was relegated to desk duty.

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** relevant

(adj.) of concern; significant

* Asking applicants about their general health is relevant since much of the job requires physical strength.

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** relinquish

(v.) to let go; abandon

* House Speaker Jim Wright had to relinquish his position after an ethics investigation undermined his authority.

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** remonstrate

(v.) to protest or object to

* The population will remonstrate against the new taxes.

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** remorse

(n.) guilt; sorrow

* The prosecutor argued that the defendant had shown no remorse for his actions.

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** renascence

(n.) a new life; rebirth

* The renascence of the band resulted in a new recording contract. 

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** rend

(v.) to rip or pull from; to split with violence; to disturb with a sharp noise

* The kidnapper rent the newborn baby from the arms of its mother as she was leaving the hospital.

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** render

(v.) deliver; provide

* The Yorkville First Aid Squad was first on the scene to render assistance.

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** renegade

(n.) a person who abandons something, as a religion, cause or movement; a traitor

* Benedict Arnold remains one of the most notorious renegades in American history.

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** repast

(n.) food that is eaten

* The repast consisted of cheese, wine, and bread

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** replete

(adj.) well supplied

* The kitchen came replete with food and utensils.

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** replica

(n.) copy; representation; reproduction

* The equine sculpture was a replica of a Remington.

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** reprehend

(v.) to reprimand; to find fault with

* Finding the need to reprehend the student’s actions, she gave her detention.

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** reproach

(v.) to blame and thus make feel ashamed; to rebuke

* The major reproached his troops for not following orders.

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** reprobate

(v.) to condemn; to reject

* The teacher will reprobate the actions of the delinquent student.

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** reproof

(n.) a rebuke

* For all his hard work, all he got was a reproof of his efforts.

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** repudiate

(v.) to disown; to deny support for; reject; cancel

* The offer was repudiated because of its cost.

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** repugnant

(adj.) inconsistent; resistance

* The repugnant actions of the man made others lose trust in him.

* Despite their efforts to convince her, she remained repugnant.

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** resignation

(n.) quitting; submission

* He submitted his resignation because he found a new job.

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** resilient

(adj.) flexible; capable of withstanding stress

* The elderly man attributed his resilient health to a good diet and frequent exercise.

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** resolution

(n.) proposal; promise; determination

* Former U.S. Senator George Mitchell journeyed to Ireland to help bring about a peaceful resolution to years of strife.

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** resonant

(adj.) resounding; re-echoing

* Beautiful resonant music escaped from the cathedral’s windows.

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** respite

(n.) recess; rest period

* The workers talked and drank coffee during the respite.

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** resplendent

(adj.) dazzling and shining

* Her new diamond was resplendent in the sunshine.

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** resurgent

(adj.) rising or tending to rise again

* A resurgent wave of enthusiasm erupted from the once quiet crowd.

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** reticent

(adj.) silent; reserved; shy

* It was difficult to get the reticent boy to join the conversation.

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** retract

(v.) to draw or take back

* Once you say something, it’s hard to retract.

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** retroaction

(n.) a reverse action

* The retroaction of the car sent those standing behind it fleeing. 

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** reverent

(adj.) respectful; feeling or showing deep love, respect, or awe

* The congregation was very reverent of its spiritual leader.

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** reverie

(n.) the condition of being unaware of one’s surroundings, trance;
dreamy thinking or imagining, especially of agreeable things

* As their anniversary neared, Lisa fell into a reverie as she recalled all the good times she and Sam had had.

* After spending the morning in reverie, I decided to work in the afternoon.

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** revile

(v.) to be abusive in speech

* It is not appropriate for a teacher to revile a student.

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** rhapsodize

(v.) to speak or write in a very enthusiastic manner

* Hearing the general rhapsodize about his time as a plebe (trainee) sent a wave of recognition through the academy graduates.

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** rhetorical

(adj.) having to do with verbal communication; artificial eloquence;
 effective and persuasive skill in using language

* In posing a rhetorical question, he hoped to get people thinking. 

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** ribald

(adj.) vulgar joking or mocking

** The ribald story proved an embarrassment to its audience.

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** rigor

(n.) severity

* She criticized the planning board’s vote with rigor.

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** rivet

(v.) to secure; to hold firmly, as in eyes

* We can rivet the boat to the dock.

* She could not look away from the morbid scene; she was riveted to it.

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** roseate

(adj.) rose-colored

* The roseate sunset faded into the sky.

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** rout

(n.) a noisy or disorderly crowd; a retreat or terrible defeat;

(v.) to dig up

* (n.) The rout kept the police busy all morning with crowd control. 

* (v.) I need to rout the backyard in order to put in the pipes.

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** rudimentary

(adj.) elementary

* Adding two plus two is a rudimentary activity.

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** ruffian

(n.) tough person or a hoodlum

* Contrary to popular opinion, ruffians are nothing new in the city.

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** ruminate

(v.) to consider carefully

* The doctor will ruminate on his diagnosis.

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** rummage

(v.) search thoroughly

* Determined to find his college yearbook, he rummaged through every box in the garage.

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** rustic

(adj.) plain and unsophisticated; homely; of country or living in the country

* The president enjoyed spending weekends at Camp David, a rustic retreat in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland.

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   { S }

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** saga

(n.) a legend; any long story of adventure or heroic deed

* The saga of King Arthur and his court has been told for generations.

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** sagacious

(adj.) wise

* Many of her friends came to her with their problems because she gave sagacious advice.

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** salient

(adj.) noticeable; prominent

* His most salient feature is his nose.

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** salubrious

(adj.) promoting good health

* Exercising frequently and eating healthy foods are salubrious habits.

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** salutatory

(adj.) of or containing greetings

* Two messengers were sent to the new neighbors with a salutatory letter.

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** salvage

(v.) rescue from loss

* The family tried to salvage their belongings after their home was destroyed by a tornado. 

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** sanction

(v.) an act of giving authoritative permission; to give encouragement;

(n.) a blockade

* (v.) The government has sanctioned the meetings as a worthy cause.  

* (n.) Before committing troops to war, the president wanted to give the sanctions a chance to work.

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** sanguine

(adj.) optimistic; cheerful; red

* Even when victory seemed impossible, the general remained sanguine.

* The dress was sanguine with a bright green border stripe.

* With a sanguine nod the interviewee entered the office.

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** sapid

(adj.) having a pleasant taste

* Yellow and blue icing covered the sapid pastry.

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** sarcasm

(n.) ironic; bitter humor designed to wound

* The teacher did not appreciate the student’s sarcasm and gave him detention.

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** sardonic

(adj.) having a sarcastic quality

* H.L. Mencken was known for his sardonic writings on political figures.

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** satire

(n.) a novel or play that uses humor or irony to expose folly

* The new play was a satire that exposed the President’s inability to lead the country.

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** saturate

(v.) soak thoroughly; drench

* She saturated the sponge with soapy water before she began washing the car.

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** saturnine

(adj.) gloomy, sluggish

* The never-ending rain put everyone in a saturnine mood.

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** saunter

(v.) to walk at a leisurely pace; stroll

* The loving couple sauntered down the wooded path.

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** savant

(n.) one who is intelligent

* The savant accepted his award of excellence.

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** savor

(v.) to receive pleasure from; to enjoy with appreciation; dwell on with delight

* After several months without a day off, she savored every minute of her week-long vacation.

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** scanty

(adj.) inadequate; sparse

* The malnutrition was caused by the scanty amount of healthy food eaten each day.

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** schism

(n.) a division in an organized group

* When the group could not decide on a plan of action, a schism occurred.

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** scourge

(v.) to whip severely

* The trainer will scourge the animal if it attacks someone.

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** scrupulous

(adj.) honorable; exact; extremely conscientious

* After finding a purse with valuable items inside, the scrupulous Mr.

Prem returned everything to its owner.

* A scrupulous cleaning was conducted before the family moved.

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** scrutinize

(v.) examine closely; study

* After allowing his son to borrow the family car, the father scrutinized every section for dents.

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** scurrilous

(adj.) vulgarity

* The scurrilous language made the mother twinge.

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** sectarian

(adj.) to be narrow minded or limited

* A sectarian precluded him from listening to the other side.

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** sedentary

(adj.) characterized by sitting; remaining in one locality

* The sedentary child had not moved after two hours. 

* The old woman who never left her home town has led a sedentary life.

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** sedition

(n.) a revolt

* The sedition by the guards ended with their being executed for treason

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** sedulous

(adj.) working diligently; persistent

* The sedulous habits of the team will surely conclude in victory.

* Only the most sedulous salesman will succeed.

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** seethe

(v.) to be violently disturbed

* By the time I arrived, she was seething with anger.

* He seethed at the prospect of losing the business to his conniving uncle.

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** sequester

(v.) to separate or segregate

* The jury was sequestered at the local inn.

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** serendipity

(n.) an apparent aptitude for making fortunate discoveries accidentally

* Serendipity seemed to follow the lucky winner where ever he went.

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** serrated

(adj.) having a saw-toothed edge

* While camping, the family used a serrated band saw to cut firewood.

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** servile

(adj.) slavish (slave like); groveling

* He knew they both possessed equal abilities, and yet he was always treated as a servile underling.

* The servile nurse did everything the doctor told her to do.

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** shady

(adj.) a character of questionable honesty

* A shady person would not be trusted with a sensitive secret.

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** shoal

(n.) a large group or crowd

* Shoals of grain were stored in the barn.

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** shoddy

(adj.) of inferior quality; cheap

* The shoddy homes were blown over in the storm.

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** sinuous

(adj.) full of curves; twisting and turning

* Sinuous mountain roads at night present extra danger at night when it’s harder to see the road’s edge.

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** skeptic

(n.) doubter

* Even after seeing evidence that his competitor’s new engine worked, the engineer remained a skeptic that it was marketable.

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** skulk

(v.) to move secretly, implies sinister

* The thief skulked around the neighborhood hoping to find his next target.

* They found the boy skulking in the bushes.

* The woman attempted to skulk away from cleaning the house by hiring a cleaning service.

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** slander

(v.) defame; maliciously misrepresent

* Orville said he’d been slandered, and he asked the court who would-or could- give him his name back.

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** sloth

(n.) disinclination to action or labor

* Employers want to guard against hiring sloths as new employees.

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** slothful

(adj.) lazy

* The slothful actions of the player led to his benching.

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** slovenly

(adv.) sloppy

* His mother-in-law did not approve of his slovenly manner.

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** sodden

(adj.) soggy; dull in action as if from alcohol

* The flowers were sodden after the rain.

* The sodden reaction of the man caused the accident.

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** sojourn

(v.) to stay temporarily

* The family will sojourn at their summer home. 

* The guest remained only for a sojourn; she was going to leave in the
afternoon.

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** solace

(n.) hope; comfort during a time of grief

* When her father passed away, she found solace amongst her friends and family.

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** solemnity

(n.) a deep, reverent feeling often associated with religious occasions

* The church service was full of solemnity.

* The solemnity of the funeral procession stood in stark contrast to the young children splashing with delight in a nearby pool.

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** solicit

(v.) ask; seek

* The jobless man solicited employment from many factories before he was able to find work.

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** soliloquy

(n.) a talk one has with oneself (esp. on stage)

* Imagine T.S. Eliot’s poem The Waste Land performed on stage as a kind of soliloquy!

* The soliloquy by the man standing alone on the cliff sent a message of regret.

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** solubility

(n.) that can be solved; that can be dissolved

* The solubility of sugar causes it to disappear when put in water.

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** somber

(adj.) dark and depressing; gloomy

* The sad story had put everyone in a somber mood.

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** soporific

(adj.) causing sleep

* The soporific medication should not be taken when you need to drive.

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** sordid

(adj.) filthy; base; vile

* The sordid gutters needed to be cleaned after the long, rainy autumn. 

* The criminals thought patterns were so sordid that he was not granted parole.

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** sovereign

(adj.) superior

* The power was given to the sovereign warrior.

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** specious

(adj.) plausible, but deceptive; apparently, but not actually,true

* The jury forewoman said the jury saw through the defense lawyer’s specious argument and convicted his client on the weight of the evidence.

* I was unsure of the meaning of the specious statement.

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** spelunker

(n.) one who studies caves

* The spelunker made a startling discovery in the old mine.

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** spendthrift

(n.) a person who spends money extravagantly

* The spendthrift bought two new necklaces and three pairs of shoes.

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** splenetic

(adj.) marked by hostility

* The splenetic warriors advanced with no thought of what they were destroying.

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** sporadic

(adj.) rarely occurring or appearing; intermittent

* In the desert there is usually only sporadic rainfall.

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** spurious

(adj.) not genuine, false; bogus

* The newspaper was notorious for spurious information.

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** spurn

(v.)  to push away;

(n.) a strong rejection

* (v.) The woman spurned the advances of her suitor, saying she wasn’t ready for a commitment.

* (n.) Unlucky enough to be the ninth telemarketer to call Jane that evening, he caught her spurn.

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** squalid

(adj.) filthy; wretched (from squalor)

* The lack of sanitation piping caused squalid conditions. 

* He makes good money, but I would never want to work in those squalid crawl spaces.

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** stagnant

(adj.) motionless, uncirculating

* The stagnant water in the puddle became infested with mosquitoes.

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** staid

(adj.) marked by self-control

* The horse was staid as it entered the stable.

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** stamina

(n.) endurance

* Anybody who can finish the New York Marathon has lots of stamina.

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** stanch

(v.) to stop or check the flow of; staunch

* It is necessary to stanch the bleeding from the wound as soon as possible.

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** stanza

(n.) group of lines in a poem having a definite pattern

* The poet uses an odd simile in the second stanza of the poem.

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** static

(adj.) inactive; changeless

* The view while riding in the train across the endless, flat landscape remained static for days.

* The static water of the lake reflected the image of the trees.

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** steadfast

(adj.) loyal

* The secret service agents are steadfast to their oath to protect the president.

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** stigma

(n.) a mark of disgrace, a mark on a plant or animal.

* The “F” on his transcript is a stigma on his record.

* The actor is not getting work because of stigma of his drinking habit.

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** stigmatize

(v.) to characterize or make as disgraceful

* The gross error will stigmatize the worker as careless.

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** stipend

(n.) payment for work done

* She receives a monthly stipend for her help with the project. 

* The bank will pay the woman a stipend of a hundred
dollars a week.

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** stoic

(adj.) detached; unruffled; calm; austere indifference to joy, grief, pleasure, or pain

* The soldier had been in week after week of fierce battle; nonetheless, he remained stoic.

* With stoic obedience the child sat quietly on the chair.

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** stoke

(v.) to feed fuel to; especially a fire

* With the last embers dying, he stoked the fire one more time.

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** stolid

(adj.) showing little emotion

* With a stolid expression, the man walked away from the confrontation.

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** striated

(adj.) having lines or grooves

* The striated road was ready for traffic.

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** stridency

(n.) harshness or shrillness sound

* The stridency of the whistle hurt the dog’s ears.

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** strident

(adj.) creaking; harsh, grating

* Her strident voice hampered her chances of getting the announcer position.

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** stupor

(n.) a stunned or bewildered condition

* He was in a stupor after being hit on the head.

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** stymie

(v.) to hinder or obstruct

* Large amounts of snowfall will stymie the rescue effort.

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** suave

(adj.) effortlessly gracious

* She was a suave negotiator, always getting what she wanted without anyone feeling they’d lost anything.

* The elegant woman entered the room with a suave walk.

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** subjugate

(v.) to dominate or enslave

* The bully will attempt to subjugate the remainder of the class. 

* The royal family subjugated the peasants, making them perform hard labor.

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** subliminal

(adj.) below the level of consciousness

* Critics of advertising say that it’s loaded with subliminal messages.

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** subsidiary

(adj.) giving a service; being in a subordinate position

* The function of the subsidiary was to oversee the bank’s commercial loans.

* He acknowledged the importance of the issue, but called it subsidiary to a host of other concerns.

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** substantive

(adj.) existing independently of others; a large quantity

* The only company not acquired in the merger retained its substantive existence.

* A substantive amount of money will be needed to fund the project.

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** subsume

(v.) to include within a larger group, to absorb,

* The AFL was subsumed by the NFL in the 1960s.

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** subtlety

(n.) propensity of understatement; so slight as to be barely noticeable

* There was no subtlety in the protest; each person carried a sign and yelled for civil rights.

* With great subtlety we slipped away from the boring party.

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** succinct

(adj.) clearly stated; getting to the point in just a few words

* The speech was succinct yet emotional.

* This is necessary to keep the overall document succinct.

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** succor

(n.) aid; assistance

* Succor was given to the fire victim in the form of clothes and temporary shelter.

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** succumb

(v.) give in; yield; collapse

* When dieting, it is difficult not to succumb to temptation.

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** suffuse

(v.) to overspread

* The rain will suffuse the spilled sand around the patio.

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** sumptuous

(adj.) involving great expense

* A sumptuous spread of meats, vegetables, soups and breads was prepared for the guests.

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** sunder

(v.) break; split in two

* The Civil War threatened to sunder the United States. 

* Management seeks to sunder the workers’ connections to the union.

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** sundry

(adj.) various; miscellaneous; separate; distinct

* This store sells many sundry novelty items.

* Sundry items may be purchased as a single item. 

* The salesman gave samples to all and sundry (One and all).

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** superficial

(adj.) on the surface, narrow minded; lacking depth

* The victim had two stab wounds, but luckily were only superficial.

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** superfluous

(adj.) unnecessary; extra

* Only the first sentence is necessary; all of these details are superfluous. 

* After they finished their seven-course meal, a large dessert seemed superfluous.

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** superlative

(adj.) of the highest kind or degree

* The Golden Gate Bridge is a superlative example of civil engineering.

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** supplant

(v.) to take the place of

* Can you supplant my position if I cannot play?

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** suppliant

(adj.) asking earnestly and submissively

* Her suppliant request of wanting to know the name of the man was met with a laugh.

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** suppress

(v.) to bring to an end; hold back

* The illegal aliens were suppressed by the border patrol.

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** surfeit

(v.) excessively indulging;

(n.) overindulgence

* (v.) The teenagers were warned not to surfeit at the party. 

* (n.) The result of her surfeit was a week of regret.

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** surmise

(n) a guess;

(v) to guess

* (n) My surmise is that the couple's “good news” is the announcement that they are going to have a baby.

* (v) He surmised how the play would end before the second act began.

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** surpass

(v.) go beyond; out do

* After recovering from a serious illness, the boy surpassed the doctor’s expectations by leaving the hospital two days early.

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** surreptitious

(adj.) done secretly

* The surreptitious maneuvers gave the advancing army an advantage.

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** susceptible

(adj.) easily imposed; inclined

* She gets an annual flu shot since she is susceptible to becoming ill.

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** swathe

(v.) to wrap around something; envelop

* Soft blankets swathe the new born baby.

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**sycophant

(n.) flatterer

* Rodolfo honed his skills as a sycophant, hoping it would get him into Sylvia’s good graces.

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** syllogism

(n.) reasoning in order from general to particular

* The syllogism went from fish to guppies.

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** symmetry

(n.) correspondence of parts; harmony

* The roman columns give the building a symmetry.

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** synthetic

(adj.) not real, rather artificial

* The synthetic skin was made of a thin rubber.

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