This collection presents 65 Big words that start with R, spanning from “Rambunctious” to “Rumination”. Most entries are polysyllabic, formal, and often useful for elevated writing, vocabulary study, or teaching.
Big words that start with R are polysyllabic, high-register English terms often rooted in Latin, Greek, or Romance languages. Many of these words appear in literature, academic writing, and rhetoric to convey precision and authority.
Below you’ll find the table with Word, Etymology, and Definition.
Word: The headword you scan to locate a specific term quickly for writing, teaching, or study.
Etymology: The origin line shows language and root elements, helping you understand historical meaning and nuance.
Definition: A concise, one-sentence meaning that helps you use each word accurately in context.
Big words that start with R
| Word | Part of speech | Etymology | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recalcitrant | Adjective | Latin recalcitrare ‘kick back’, 17th c. | Stubbornly resistant to authority or control. |
| Recapitulate | Verb | Latin recapitulat-, 17th c. | Summarize again or state main points anew. |
| Recidivism | Noun | Latin recidiva ‘relapse’, 19th c. | Tendency to relapse into criminal or undesirable behavior. |
| Recondite | Adjective | Latin reconditus ‘hidden’, 17th c. | Little known and difficult to understand. |
| Rectitude | Noun | Latin rectus ‘right’, 15th c. | Moral uprightness or correctness of judgment. |
| Redolent | Adjective | Latin redolēre ’emit scent’, 16th c. | Suggestive of; evocative or fragrant. |
| Redoubtable | Adjective | Old French redoutable, 14th c. | Formidable, inspiring respect or fear. |
| Refulgent | Adjective | Latin refulgere ‘shine back’, 17th c. | Shining brightly; radiant. |
| Reification | Noun | Latin re- + facere ‘make’, 20th c. philosophical. | Turning abstract ideas into concrete things or concepts. |
| Remonstrate | Verb | Latin remonstrare ‘show again’, 16th c. | Make strong objections or protest earnestly. |
| Remonstrance | Noun | Latin remonstrare, 14th c. | A forceful protest or formal objection. |
| Remuneration | Noun | Latin remunerare ‘reward’, 17th c. | Payment or compensation for services rendered. |
| Renascent | Adjective | Latin renasci ‘be reborn’, 19th c. | Coming into being again; revived. |
| Renunciation | Noun | Latin renuntiare ‘give up’, 15th c. | Formal rejection or giving up of a claim or belief. |
| Reparation | Noun | Latin reparare ‘repair’, 15th c. | Compensation for wrongdoing or injury. |
| Repatriation | Noun | Latin re- + patria ‘country’, 19th c. | Return of someone or something to their country of origin. |
| Reprehensible | Adjective | Latin reprehendere ‘blame’, 16th c. | Deserving of condemnation or censure. |
| Repudiate | Verb | Latin repudiare ‘reject’, 16th c. | Refuse to accept or be associated with; reject. |
| Repugnance | Noun | Latin repugnare ‘fight back’, 16th c. | Strong disgust or aversion. |
| Rescission | Noun | Latin rescindere ‘break off’, 17th c. | Formal cancellation of a contract or agreement. |
| Resilience | Noun | Latin resilire ‘spring back’, 19th c. | Ability to recover quickly from difficulties. |
| Resolute | Adjective | Latin resolutus ‘loosened’, 15th c. | Firmly determined and unwavering. |
| Resolution | Noun | Latin resolutio ‘loosening’, 14th c. | Firm decision or formal determination. |
| Resplendent | Adjective | Latin resplendere ‘shine back’, 16th c. | Attractively brilliant or splendid. |
| Restitution | Noun | Latin restitutio ‘restoring’, 14th c. | Restoring something to its rightful owner or state. |
| Reticent | Adjective | Latin reticent- ‘keeping silent’, 19th c. | Reserved, inclined to keep one’s thoughts private. |
| Retrospective | Adjective | Latin retro- ‘back’ + specere ‘look’, 17th c. | Looking back on or dealing with past events. |
| Reverberate | Verb | Latin reverberare ‘strike back’, 16th c. | Echo repeatedly; have continuing effect. |
| Reverence | Noun | Latin reverentia ‘respect’, 14th c. | Deep respect or veneration. |
| Revisionism | Noun | Latin revisio ‘review’, 19th c. | Reinterpretation of established views or histories. |
| Rhapsodic | Adjective | Greek rhapsōidos, via Latin, 18th c. | Expressing great enthusiasm or ecstatic praise. |
| Rhapsodize | Verb | Greek rhapsōidos, 19th c. | Speak or write with extravagant enthusiasm. |
| Rhetorical | Adjective | Greek rhetorikos via Latin, 16th c. | Relating to persuasive or ornamental language. |
| Rhetorician | Noun | Greek rhetorician, 16th c. | A person skilled in rhetoric or persuasive speech. |
| Rigorous | Adjective | Latin rigor ‘stiffness’, 16th c. | Extremely thorough, accurate, and demanding. |
| Ruminate | Verb | Latin ruminare ‘chew cud’, 16th c. | Think deeply or repeatedly about something. |
| Rumination | Noun | Latin ruminatio, 17th c. | Prolonged, often repetitive, deep thought. |
| Rapprochement | Noun | French rapprocher ‘bring together’, 19th c. | Restoration of friendly relations between parties. |
| Ramification | Noun | Latin ramus ‘branch’, 18th c. | A consequence or complex subdivision branching from something. |
| Rambunctious | Adjective | Probably imitative, 19th c. | Unruly, boisterous, or high-spirited. |
| Rapacious | Adjective | Latin rapax ‘grasping’, 16th c. | Aggressively greedy or grasping. |
| Rapacity | Noun | Latin rapax, 17th c. | Extreme greed or grasping behavior. |
| Rarefaction | Noun | Latin rarus ‘thin’, 17th c. | Process of making something less dense or concentrated. |
| Rebarbative | Adjective | French rebarbatif, 19th c. | Off-puttingly unattractive or repellent. |
| Reciprocity | Noun | Latin reciprocus ‘returning’, 17th c. | Mutual exchange of privileges or actions. |
| Recrudescent | Adjective | Latin recrudescere ‘become raw again’, 19th c. | Breaking out again or becoming active once more. |
| Refractory | Adjective | Latin refractarius ‘stubborn’, 16th c. | Stubbornly resistant to control or treatment. |
| Reformation | Noun | Latin reformare ‘form again’, 14th c. | Major institutional or moral reform process. |
| Remediation | Noun | Latin remediare ‘provide a remedy’, 19th c. | The act of correcting or improving a deficient situation. |
| Remonstrative | Adjective | Latin remonstrare ‘show again’, 17th c. | Expressing protest or complaint openly. |
| Reprobate | Noun/Adj. | Latin reprobare ‘reject’, 14th c. | Morally unprincipled person (noun) or condemned (adj.). |
| Reprobation | Noun | Latin reprobatio ‘rejection’, 17th c. | Formal condemnation or rejection. |
| Requisition | Noun | Latin requisit-, 16th c. | Formal demand or official claim for use or service. |
| Resurgence | Noun | Latin resurgere ‘rise again’, 18th c. | A renewed increase or revival. |
| Resuscitate | Verb | Latin resuscitare ‘revive’, 16th c. | Restore consciousness or bring back into use. |
| Retaliatory | Adjective | Latin retaliari ‘pay back’, 19th c. | Intended as revenge or reciprocal punishment. |
| Reticence | Noun | Latin reticentia ‘silence’, 17th c. | Quality of being reserved or uncommunicative. |
| Retribution | Noun | Latin retributio ‘repayment’, 15th c. | Punishment inflicted as vengeance or moral justice. |
| Retroactive | Adjective | Latin retro ‘back’ + facere ‘make’, 19th c. | Taking effect from a date in the past. |
| Retrogression | Noun | Latin retrogressus ‘step back’, 17th c. | Return to a worse or less developed state. |
| Revanchism | Noun | French revanche ‘revenge’, 19th c. | Political demand for revenge or territorial recovery. |
| Reverie | Noun | French rêverie, 16th c. | A state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing. |
| Revivification | Noun | Latin revivificare ‘make live again’, 19th c. | Act of restoring life, activity, or vigor. |
| Revolutionize | Verb | Latin revolutio ‘turn around’, 19th c. | Change something fundamentally and radically. |
| Revolutionary | Adjective/Noun | Latin revolutio, 18th c. | Involving or advocating extreme change; radical. |
Descriptions
Recalcitrant
Used for people, institutions, or problems refusing compliance; formal tone. Synonyms: obstinate, defiant.
Recapitulate
Common in academic writing and lectures to signal concise review or summary.
Recidivism
Used in criminology, policy reports; formal register. Synonym: relapse (in law).
Recondite
Applied to abstruse scholarship or ideas; high-register. Synonyms: abstruse, arcane.
Rectitude
Formal noun used in ethics, biographies, or praise. Synonyms: integrity, probity.
Redolent
Used figuratively (evocative) or literally (scented); literary register.
Redoubtable
Often applied to opponents, achievements, or reputations; formal tone.
Refulgent
Poetic or literary adjective for brilliance. Synonyms: radiant, resplendent.
Reification
Frequent in philosophy, sociology, critical theory; high-register term for objectification.
Remonstrate
Used in formal complaints, diplomacy, or civic discourse. Synonyms: protest, object.
Remonstrance
Often denotes written or spoken protest in politics or institutions.
Remuneration
Used in HR, contracts, and formal business contexts. Synonyms: compensation, pay.
Renascent
Applied to movements, ideas, or cultural renewals; formal register.
Renunciation
Common in legal, religious, or philosophical contexts. Synonyms: abdication, rejection.
Reparation
Used in legal, historical, and political debates about compensation.
Repatriation
Used in migration, legal, and cultural contexts.
Reprehensible
Strong formal criticism in moral, legal, or ethical contexts.
Repudiate
Used in legal, academic, and public disputes; formal register.
Repugnance
Emphatic term for moral or physical disgust; literary or formal usage.
Rescission
Legal and commercial term; used in law texts and business.
Resilience
Used in psychology, ecology, business; positive, formal descriptor.
Resolute
Used in speeches, descriptions of character; moderately formal.
Resolution
Used for decisions, image clarity, or problem-solving contexts.
Resplendent
Literary adjective for luxurious appearance or brightness.
Restitution
Legal and moral term for compensation or restoration.
Reticent
Formal description of speech or personality; synonyms: taciturn.
Retrospective
Used in art exhibits, reviews, or historical analysis.
Reverberate
Used both literally (sound) and figuratively (consequences).
Reverence
Formal, often religious or ceremonial tone. Synonyms: veneration, esteem.
Revisionism
Used in historiography, politics; can be neutral or pejorative.
Rhapsodic
Used for ecstatic speech, music, or writing; literary register.
Rhapsodize
Often used critically to note excessive praise.
Rhetorical
Used in writing, speech analysis; can imply style over substance.
Rhetorician
Used for scholars, speechwriters, or skilled orators.
Rigorous
Applied to methods, tests, reasoning; academic and scientific tone.
Ruminate
Used in psychology, literature; denotes prolonged contemplation.
Rumination
Used in mental-health and literary contexts; can be neutral or negative.
Rapprochement
Diplomatic term used in international relations.
Ramification
Used for consequences, legal or technical developments.
Rambunctious
Informal but vivid; often used about children or crowds.
Rapacious
Used for acquisitive people, institutions, or animals; formal tone.
Rapacity
Used in moral, economic, or historical critique.
Rarefaction
Scientific term in physics/chemistry; formal usage.
Rebarbative
Literary word for disagreeable qualities; synonymous with repellant.
Reciprocity
Used in law, diplomacy, and social theory; formal register.
Recrudescent
Used medically or historically for resurgent problems.
Refractory
Used in medicine, metallurgy, or behavior contexts.
Reformation
Historical and religious term (e.g., Protestant Reformation); formal.
Remediation
Used in education, environmental cleanup, and law.
Remonstrative
Describes tone or behavior that protests; formal register.
Reprobate
Old-fashioned but still used for vehement moral condemnation.
Reprobation
Used in theological, moral, or literary contexts.
Requisition
Used in military, legal, or administrative language.
Resurgence
Used for economic, political, or cultural comebacks.
Resuscitate
Medical term and figurative usage for reviving ideas or practices.
Retaliatory
Used in law, diplomacy, and ethics; often pejorative.
Reticence
Neutral to positive descriptor of discretion; literary register.
Retribution
Used in legal, moral, and literary contexts.
Retroactive
Common in law, policy, and finance; formal.
Retrogression
Used in social, ecological, or clinical descriptions.
Revanchism
Used in political history and analysis; pejorative nuance.
Reverie
Literary term for daydream-like contemplation or fancy.
Revivification
Rare, emphatic term for renewal or revival.
Revolutionize
Used for technological, social, or industrial transformation.
Revolutionary
Used for ideas, movements, or people bringing major change.