143 Adjectives That Start With R
R is the letter of temperament under pressure. It holds an unusual number of words for how somebody behaves when things are difficult — resilient, resolute, reckless, resigned, relentless, remorseless — and it carries praise and criticism in roughly equal measure. This page lists 143 adjectives that start with R, sorted by the job you need doing rather than by whether the word flatters.
Every word has a short meaning. If you already know what you are describing — a person, a place, a mood — go straight to that section.
All 143 adjectives at a glance
rakish, racy, rotund, rangy, reprehensible, rambunctious, rancorous, rash, rational, raucous, realistic, rebellious, receptive, reckless, reclusive, refined, reflective, regal, reliable, relentless, remorseful, remorseless, reproachful, reputable, resentful, reserved, resilient, resolute, resourceful, respectable, respectful, responsible, responsive, restless, reticent, revered, righteous, rigorous, riotous, robust, romantic, rowdy, rude, ruddy, rubicund, ruthless, ready, retiring, reverent, rigid, renowned, radioactive, ragged, rainy, rambling, rampant, random, rapid, rare, raw, real, recent, reciprocal, rectangular, recurrent, redundant, refreshing, regional, regular, relative, relevant, remote, renewable, repetitive, residential, resonant, reusable, reverse, revolving, rhythmic, rich, ridged, rife, ripe, rocky, rolling, roomy, rotten, rancid, rough, round, routine, rubbery, replete, retrograde, resplendent, repellent, rugged, ruinous, runny, rural, rustic, rusty, ramshackle, recognisable, reddish, requisite, restorative, rewarding, rosy, royal, radiant, rapturous, ravenous, regretful, rejected, relieved, reluctant, resigned, restive, rueful, ruffled, rapt, restful, reposeful, reminiscent, Rabelaisian, rapacious, recalcitrant, recondite, redolent, refractory, remunerative, reticulated, rhapsodic, ribald, riparian, risible, ruminative, raffish, rectilinear, redoubtable, refulgent
For people
Character and manner. Remorseful and remorseless are the clearest opposite pair the letter offers, and reserved and reticent a close near-pair: reserved is a manner, reticent is being disposed to say less than could be said.
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| rakish | stylishly and confidently unconventional |
| racy | lively and mildly indecent |
| rotund | stout and heavily built |
| rangy | tall and long-limbed |
| reprehensible | deserving blame |
| rambunctious | boisterous and hard to contain |
| rancorous | filled with long-held bitterness |
| rash | acting before weighing the consequences |
| rational | guided by reason rather than feeling |
| raucous | loud and rough in voice |
| realistic | judging what is actually possible |
| rebellious | resisting authority on principle |
| receptive | willing to take in what is offered |
| reckless | indifferent to danger |
| reclusive | avoiding the company of others |
| refined | polished in manner and taste |
| reflective | given to thinking things over |
| regal | carrying the bearing of royalty |
| reliable | able to be depended on |
| relentless | never easing the pressure |
| remorseful | sorry for something done |
| remorseless | feeling no regret at all |
| reproachful | expressing blame or disappointment |
| reputable | known to be sound |
| resentful | harbouring a sense of unfair treatment |
| reserved | undemonstrative in manner |
| resilient | recovering quickly after a setback |
| resolute | fixed in purpose |
| resourceful | finding a way when none is provided |
| respectable | meeting accepted standards of conduct |
| respectful | showing regard for others |
| responsible | answerable for what happens |
| responsive | reacting readily to others |
| restless | unable to stay still or settled |
| reticent | disposed to say less than could be said |
| revered | widely honoured by others |
| righteous | morally upright, sometimes insistently so |
| rigorous | thorough and exacting |
| riotous | wildly disorderly |
| robust | strong and not easily damaged |
| romantic | governed by feeling and idealism |
| rowdy | noisy and unruly |
| rude | lacking ordinary courtesy |
| ruddy | having a healthy red colour |
| rubicund | red-faced |
| ruthless | pursuing an end without pity |
| ready | prepared and willing to act |
| retiring | shrinking from attention |
| reverent | treating something as sacred |
| rigid | unwilling to bend a rule |
| renowned | widely known for something good |
For places and things
Objects, materials and conditions. Note that several here carry a second, figurative sense that does the more interesting work — rocky, rusty, raw and rough all describe situations as readily as surfaces.
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| radioactive | giving off radiation from decaying atoms |
| ragged | torn and uneven at the edges |
| rainy | marked by frequent rain |
| rambling | going on at length without direction |
| rampant | spreading without check |
| random | without pattern or plan |
| rapid | happening at speed |
| rare | seldom found |
| raw | not cooked or not yet worked; of a feeling, exposed and unhealed |
| real | actually existing |
| recent | having happened a short time ago |
| reciprocal | given by each side to the other |
| rectangular | having four right angles |
| recurrent | coming back again and again |
| redundant | more than is needed |
| refreshing | reviving after tiredness |
| regional | belonging to one part of a country |
| regular | following a fixed pattern |
| relative | judged against something else |
| relevant | bearing on the matter at hand |
| remote | far from anywhere else |
| renewable | able to be replaced naturally |
| repetitive | made of the same thing again and again |
| residential | made up of homes |
| resonant | carrying a deep echoing sound |
| reusable | able to be used more than once |
| reverse | facing or moving the opposite way |
| revolving | turning about a centre |
| rhythmic | moving to a steady recurring beat |
| rich | abundant, or heavy with flavour |
| ridged | marked with raised lines |
| rife | widespread, usually of something unwelcome |
| ripe | ready to be picked or eaten |
| rocky | strewn with stone, or unsteady |
| rolling | rising and falling in long curves |
| roomy | having plenty of space |
| rotten | decayed |
| rancid | gone off, of fat or oil |
| rough | uneven to the touch, or harsh |
| round | shaped like a circle or ball |
| routine | done as a matter of course |
| rubbery | springy and hard to cut |
| replete | completely full |
| retrograde | moving backwards, or returning to a worse state |
| resplendent | richly and brilliantly adorned |
| repellent | provoking strong distaste |
| rugged | rough and durable |
| ruinous | causing destruction |
| runny | more liquid than it should be |
| rural | of the countryside |
| rustic | plain in a country way |
| rusty | corroded, or out of practice |
| ramshackle | held together badly and close to collapse |
| recognisable | easily identified |
| reddish | tending toward red |
| requisite | required for the purpose |
| restorative | having the power to renew health or strength |
| rewarding | giving back more than it costs |
| rosy | pink-tinged, or promising |
| royal | belonging to a monarch |
For feelings and mood
States rather than settled traits. Several are past participles that have settled into use as adjectives, which is why they carry the sense of something having been done to the person: rejected, resigned.
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| radiant | visibly lit up by happiness or health |
| rapturous | carried away by delight |
| ravenous | extremely hungry |
| regretful | wishing something had gone otherwise |
| rejected | turned down and made to feel it |
| relieved | released from anxiety |
| reluctant | unwilling but going along |
| resigned | accepting something unwelcome as settled |
| restive | impatient under restraint |
| rueful | showing wry regret |
| ruffled | put slightly out of composure |
| rapt | completely absorbed |
| restful | giving a sense of calm |
| reposeful | settled and unhurried |
| reminiscent | calling something earlier to mind |
Rare and unusual
Worth knowing even if you use them once a year. Risible is the most useful of them and the most often misused: it leans toward laughable-at rather than genuinely funny.
| Adjective | What it means |
|---|---|
| Rabelaisian | earthy and coarsely humorous |
| rapacious | grasping and predatory |
| recalcitrant | resisting authority to the point of obstruction |
| recondite | understood by very few |
| redolent | strongly scented, or strongly suggestive |
| refractory | resistant to treatment or control |
| remunerative | profitable |
| reticulated | marked with a net-like pattern |
| rhapsodic | extravagantly enthusiastic |
| ribald | coarsely funny about sex |
| riparian | of a river bank |
| risible | laughable, usually unintentionally |
| ruminative | turning something over in the mind |
| raffish | shabbily unconventional in a way that appeals |
| rectilinear | made of straight lines |
| redoubtable | formidable and to be respected |
| refulgent | shining brightly |
Positive and negative at a glance
Sorting by job rather than by tone means compliments and criticisms sit side by side above. Here they are separated, using words already defined on this page.
| Clearly positive | Clearly negative | Depends on the sentence |
|---|---|---|
| radiant, realistic, refined, reliable, resilient, resolute, resourceful, respectful, responsible, revered, robust | rancorous, rash, reckless, remorseless, resentful, reprehensible, ruthless, rude, rowdy, rapacious, risible, rancid | relentless, reserved, restless, righteous, rigorous, romantic, raw, rough, rustic, rambling, reticent, redoubtable |
The third column is the one that needs a sentence built around it. Relentless is a compliment in a colleague and an accusation in a landlord; righteous can mean morally upright or insufferably so. The word does not change — the sentence does.
Using them in a sentence
- He was reticent about the past and relentless about the deadline.
- The cottage was rustic, ramshackle and unexpectedly roomy.
- She left the meeting resigned; he left it rapturous.
- A ragged path along a riparian strip, rife with nettles.
- The argument was rigorous, redundant and finally risible.
Related guides
- Adjectives for relationships — where reciprocal, reserved and resentful do their closest work.
- Adjectives for rain — expands rainy, raw and relentless.
- Adjectives for a river — for riparian, rocky and rolling.
- Adjectives for rooms — pairs with roomy, rectangular and rustic.
- Adjectives for rocks — the fuller texture vocabulary behind rugged and ridged.
- Adjectives for rides — for rapid, rhythmic and rough.
Checked against Merriam-Webster, the Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook. Spotted an error? Tell us — see our editorial policy.
