Words

Pronunciation

 (part of speech)

Word Charge

Word Group

Radiant

\RAY dee unt\ (adj.)

+ charge ATTRACTIVE

glowing, beaming; emitting heat

Christopher looked back and smiled at his radiant bride as she walked down the aisle.

Radical

\RAD ih kul\ (adj.)

– charge UNUSUAL

extreme, marked departure from the norm

Bored with her appearance, Lucinda decided to make a radical change and dyed her hair bright purple.

Rail

\RAYL\ (v.)

– charge CRITICIZE

to scold with bitter or abusive language

When the teacher assigned twice as much homework as usual, the class railed against such an impossible workload.

Ramble

\RAMb\ (v.)

– charge INDECISIVE

to roam, wander; to babble, digress

Central Park was designed to allow visitors either to lounge on its lawns or to ramble down its various paths.

Rancorous

\Rank o russ\ (adj.)

– charge DISLIKE

bitter, hateful

Herbert was so rancorous that he could think of nothing but taking revenge on those who had humiliated him.

Rascal

\RAS kul\ (n.)

– charge FUNNY

playful, mischievous person; a scoundrel

“You little rascals! I’ll get you for this!” shouted Mr. Wilson as Dennis and Joey ran from his broken window.

Raspy

\RAS pee\ (adj.)

= charge SOUND

rough, grating

Janis Joplin, an influential blues singer from the 1960s, enchanted audiences with her on-stage energy and her sultry, raspy voice.

Raucous

\RAW kus\ (adj.)

– charge SOUND

harsh sounding; boisterous

The grade school cafeteria was a raucous place at lunchtime.

Raze

\RAYZA\ (v.)

– charge TAKE AWAY

to tear down, demolish

The house had been razed; where it once stood there was nothing but splinters and bricks.

Reactionary

\re AK shun eh ree\ (adj.)

– charge HOSTILE

marked by extreme conservatism, especially in politics

Despite her early years as a liberal political lobbyist, when she joined the Senate she became known as a hard-line reactionary.

Reap

\REEP\ (v.)

+ charge TAKE AWAY

to obtain a return, often a harvest

While the grasshopper starved in the winter, the ant reaped the benefits of his hard labor, having so much food left over from his summer gathering.

Rebate

\REE bayt\ (n.)

= charge MONEY

deduction in amount to be paid

The price of the digital camera looked excessive, until I noticed that the store was offering a 50% rebate.

Rebuff

\re BUFF\ (v.)

– charge HOSTILE

to bluntly reject

The princess coldly rebuffed her suitor’s marriage proposal, turning her back on him and walking away.

Recall

\re KAWL\ (v.)

= charge TAKE AWAY

remember; cancel, revoke; to take back

When the car company realized that its latest model was unsafe, it was forced to recall fifty thousand automobiles.

Reckless

\REK lis\ (adj.)

– charge RECKLESS

careless, rash

Gary’s license was revoked for reckless driving; the police caught him speeding through traffic at twice the speed limit.

Reconciliation

\reh con sil ee AY shun\ (n.)

+ charge FORGIVE

the act of agreement after a quarrel, the resolution of a dispute

Because everyone in school seemed to hear about their fight, they made sure that the reconciliation was made public as well.

Recrimination

\ree kri mi NAY shun\ (n.)

– charge BLAME

counter accusation

When Larry learned that he was being sued for libel, he countersued with recriminations of his own.

Redouble

\re DUB ul\ (v.)

= charge INCREASE

to make intensity twice as great

After the snow starting picking up again, we redoubled our efforts to have the driveway cleared for our guests.

Redundancy

\ri DUN din see\ (n.)

– charge WASTEFUL

unnecessary repetition

Let’s delete a few paragraphs to cut down on the redundancy in this section of the book.

Refinement

\ri FIYN ment\ (n.)

+ charge IMPROVE

improvement, elegance

Lisa didn’t want to show her invention to the committee until she finished making a few more refinements.

Refracted

\ri FRAK tid\ (adj.)

= charge CHANGING

deflected, sharply bent

A rainbow was shining on the wall by the refracted light from the prism.

Refurbish

\re FUR bish\ (v.)

+ charge IMPROVE

to renovate

The old house was charming, but its shabby condition convinced them of the need to refurbish the place before they could move in.

Refute

\re FYOOT\ (v.)

– charge FALSE

to contradict, discredit

The president managed to refute the charges against him by proving that his accuser had been bribed.

Regale

\re GAYL\ (v.)

+ charge FUNNY

amuse, entertain

The celebrity regaled the crowd with tales about the mistakes and goofs in the movie.

Regurgitate

\re GURJ uh tayt\ (v.)

– charge CONTINUE

rush or surge back

Instead of making sure she knew the material, Yolanda memorized some key phrases and regurgitated them back to the teacher.

Rehash

\re HAS\ (v.)

= charge PERMANENT

bring forth again with no real change

Timmy didn’t want to do any new work, so he decided to rehash the paper he had written for last year’s course, hoping his teacher wouldn’t notice.

Reinforce

\ree in FORSS\ (v.)

+ charge STRONG

strengthen

Linda reinforced her argument by quoting several authoritative sources that all agree with her.

Reiterate

\re IT uh rayt\ (v.)

= charge CONTINUE

to say or do again, repeat

The teacher was forced to reiterate her instructions because the class had not been listening the first time

Relapse

\ri LAPS\ (v.)

– charge CONTINUE

regress, backslide

Although he seemed to be recovering from the flu, his doctor made him stay in bed out fear that he would relapse.

Relevance

\REL uh vens\ (n.)

= charge IMPORTANT

pertinence to the matter at hand, applicability

Because the witness’s testimony bore no relevance to the trial, the jury was instructed to disregard it.

Relinquish

\re LIN kwish\ (v.)

– charge TAKE AWAY

to renounce or surrender something

The toddler was forced to relinquish the toy when the girl who owned it asked for it back.

Relish

\REH lish\ (v.)

+ charge HAPPY

to enjoy greatly

Cameron relished the tasty sandwich, but he didn’t like the pickle that came with it.

Reluctant

\re LUK tant\ (adj.)

– charge CAUTIOUS

unwilling, opposing; hesitant

Florence was reluctant to believe the weather report that called for snow; the news had been wrong too often in the past.

Rely

\re LIY\ (v.)

= charge BELIEF

be dependant, have confidence

The Delta Force relied on the intelligence supplied to them by satellite, and were forced to pull back when they lost their connection.

Remiss

\ri MISS\ (adj.)

– charge INACTIVE

negligent or careless about a job

Jon was fired for being remiss in his duties; the company hired him to write articles, not to surf the Internet.

Remnant

\REM nent) (n.)

= charge ALONE

something left over, surviving trace

Although most of the food was finished before he arrived at the party, Mike managed to grab some of the remnants before the end.

Remorseful

\re MORS ful\ (adj.)

+ charge SAD

feeling sorry for wrongdoing

Molly realized that Scott was truly remorseful for insulting her and decided to forgive him.

Remote

\re MOHT\ (adj.)

– charge ALONE

distant, isolated

The island was so remote that Chan’s cell phone wouldn’t operate.

Remuneration

\ri myoon eh RAY shun\ (n.)

+ charge MONEY

pay or reward for work, trouble, etc.

You can’t expect people to do this kind of boring work without some form of remuneration.

Renew

\re NOO\ (v.)

+ charge TIME

resume, reaffirm, replenish

After a tense month of arguing, the two best friends renewed their pact to equally share the cost of maintaining the apartment.

Renovation

\ren oh VAY shun\ (n.)

+ charge TIME

repair, making something new again

The renovations on the museum should be complete by fall semester.

Renunciation

\re nun see AY shin\ (n.)

– charge FALSE

rejection of beliefs

The corporate tycoon’s renunciation of his lavish lifestyle shocked his coworkers.

Repel

\re PEL\ (v.)

– charge UNATTRACTIVE

to rebuff, repulse; disgust, offend

So far, the castle defenders have managed to repel the attackers, but they will not be able to hold out much longer.

Repentant

\re PEN tant\ (adj.)

+ charge FORGIVE

apologetic, remorseful, guilty

After stealing from the collection box, Ralph was repentant and confessed.

Repetitive

\ruh PET uh tiv\ (adj.)

– charge CONTINUE

done over and over again

Yasmeen hated her job at the factory; she found doing the same task over and over to be too repetitive and boring.

Replicate

\REP lih kayt\ (v.)

= charge INCREASE

to duplicate, repeat

If we’re going to replicate last year’s profit margins, we’re going to have to work harder.

Repress

\re PRESS\ (v.)

– charge UNCLEAR

to restrain or hold in

Sheila repressed the urge to roll her eyes at the obnoxious customer.

Reprieve

\re PREEV\ (n.)

+ charge FORGIVE

postponement of a punishment; relief from danger

The prisoner was granted a reprieve when the government realized he might be able to help them.

Reprimand

\REP ruh mand\ (v.)

– charge CRITICIZE

rebuke, admonish

Sarah didn’t want to reprimand her son, but she needed to sure he understood and obeyed her rules.

Repudiate

\re PYOO dee ayt\ (v.)

– charge DISAPPROVE

to reject as having no authority

The old woman’s claim that she was Russian royalty was repudiated when DNA tests showed that she was unrelated to royal family.

Reputable

\REH pyoo tu bul\ (adj.)

+ charge EXPERIENCED

honorable, respectable

Jeanie was excited to attend the lecture by the reputable scientist who is working on a cure for cancer.

Requisition

\re kwi ZIH shun\ (v.)

= charge COMMUNICATION

to demand the use of

General Montgomery requisitioned a new jeep to drive from his barracks to his office.

Reserve

\re ZERV\ (n.)

= charge SAVING

something put aside for future use

I couldn’t borrow the textbook from the library for more than two hours because it was on reserve for everyone in the class to use.

Resilient

\re ZIL yent\ (adj.)

+ charge FLEXIBLE

quick to recover, bounce back

Luckily, Ramon was a resilient person, and was able to pick up the pieces and move on after losing his business.

Resolute

\REZ uh loot\ (adj.)

+ charge STUBBORN–

determined; with a clear purpose

Louise was resolute; she would get into medical school no matter what.

Resource

\REE sors\ (n.)

+ charge HELPFUL

something that can be used

While we’d like to be able to help our neighbors construct a new barn, we just don’t have the resources to spare.

Resplendent

\ri SPLEN dent\ (adj.)

+ charge ATTRACTIVE

splendid, brilliant, dazzling

The bride looked resplendent in her long train and sparkling tiara.

Restore

\reh STOR\ (v.)

+ charge INCREASE

reestablish; revive

In an attempt to restore the city to its former glory, the mayor began a campaign to clean up the streets and attract more upscale citizens.

Restrained

\ri STRAYnd\ (adj.)

– charge FLEXIBLE

controlled, repressed, restricted

The formerly wild girl became restrained and serious after a month in the strict boarding school.

Retain

\ri TAYN\ (v.)

= charge SAVING

to hold, keep possession of

Britain had to give up most of its colonies, but it retained control over Hong Kong until the end of the twentieth century.

Retract

\re TRAKt\ (v.)

– charge TAKE AWAY

to take back or draw in

After Lance had retracted his insulting remark, Vera decided to forgive him.

Retroactive

\ret roh AK tiv\ (adj.)

= charge TIME

applying to an earlier time

Employee raises will be retroactive to the beginning of this year, although they were awarded only recently.

Revelry

\REV ul ree\ (n.)

+ charge HAPPY

boisterous festivity

An atmosphere of revelry filled the school after its basketball team’s surprising victory.

Revere

\ri VEER\ (v.)

= charge PRAISE

to worship, regard with awe

All the nuns in the convent revered their wise Mother Superior.

Revise

\reh VIYZ\ (v.)

= charge CHANGING

change or modify

Realizing his comment could harm him in the upcoming election, the candidate revised his earlier statements to appear less outrageous.

Revive

\reh VIYV\ (v.)

+ charge IMPROVE

resuscitate, bring back to life; restore to use

The competent acting troupe revived interest in the theater among neighborhood residents.

Revoke

\ri VOHK\ (v.)

– charge TAKE AWAY

to annul, cancel, call back

Jonas’s green card was revoked when it was proven that he had illegally worked outside the country.

Rhapsody

\RAP su dee\ (n.)

= charge COMMUNICATION

emotional literary or musical work

The rock group Queen played on a long musical tradition with their song “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Rhetorical

\ri TOR ih kul\ (adj.)

= charge COMMUNICATION

related to using language effectively

To prove his assertions to the crowd, the speaker asked a series of rhetorical questions, not actually expecting anyone to answer back.

Roster

\ROS ter\ (n.)

= charge ORGANIZED

a list of names

After calling the unit to attention, Lieutenant Cole read through the roster to ensure that everyone was present.

Rouse

\ROWZ\ (v.)

+ charge ENCOURAGE

provoke, excite, stir

After noticing their listless play in the previous game, the cheerleaders were determined to rouse the basketball team to play harder in tonight’s game.

Rude

\ROOD\ (adj.)

– charge AGGRESSIVE

crude, primitive, uncouth

Mr. Sanderson sent the boy away because of his rude remarks about Roger’s science project.

Ruthless

\ROOTH less\ (adj.)

– charge HOSTILE

merciless, compassionless

The Terminator was a perfectly ruthless killer, not possessing any emotions or compassion for its victims.