Voice of America Broadcast Dictionary - R
This Special English Dictionary contains about 1,500 words and makes an excellent vocabulary goal for intermediate level learners.
N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Parts of Speech Key
n. (noun) - a name word
v. (verb) - an action word
ad. (adjective/adverb) - a describing word
prep. (preposition) - a word used to show a relation
pro. (pronoun) - a word used in place of a noun
conj. (conjunction) - a joining word
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race - 
v. to run; to take part in a competition to decide who or what can move fastest; to take part in a campaign for political office; n. one of the major groups that humans can be divided into because of a common physical similarity, such as skin color
radar - n. a device that uses radio signals to learn the position or speed of objects that may be too far away to be seen
radiation - n. waves of energy from something that produces heat or light; energy from a nuclear substance, which can be dangerous
radio - n. the system of sending and receiving signals or sounds through the air without wires
raid - v. to make a sudden attack; n. a sudden attack carried out as an act of war, or for the purpose of seizing or stealing something
railroad - n. a road for trains; a company that operates such a road and its stations and equipment
rain - n. water falling from the sky
raise - v. to lift up; to move to a higher position; to cause to grow; to increase
rare - ad. not common; not usual; not often
rate - n. speed; a measure of how quickly or how often something happens; the price of any thing or service that is bought or sold
reach - v. to put a hand toward; to arrive at; to come to
react - v. to act as a result of or in answer to
read - v. to look at and understand the meaning of written words or numbers
ready - ad. prepared; completed; organized; willing
real - ad. true; truly existing; not false
realistic - ad. in agreement with the way things are
reason - n. the cause for a belief or act; purpose; something that explains
reasonable - ad. ready to listen to reasons or ideas; not extreme; ready or willing to compromise
rebel - v. to act against a government or power, often with force; to refuse to obey; n. one who opposes or fights against the government of his or her country
receive - v. to get or accept something given, offered or sent
recent - ad. a short time ago
recession - n. a temporary reduction in economic activity, when industries produce less and many workers lose their jobs
recognize - v. to know or remember something or someone that was known, known about or seen before; to accept another nation as independent and establish diplomatic ties with its government
record - v. to write something in order to have it for future use; to put sound or pictures in a form that can be kept and heard or seen again; n. a writing that shows proof or facts about something
recover - v. to get again something that was lost, stolen or taken away ("The police recovered the stolen money."); to return to normal health or normal conditions She is expected to recover from the operation.")
red - ad. having the color like that of blood
reduce - v. to make less or smaller in number, size or amount; to cut
reform - v. to make better by changing; to improve; n. a change to a better condition
refugee - n. a person who has been forced to flee because of unjust treatment, danger or war
refuse - v. to reject; to not accept, give or do something
regret - n. a feeling of sadness or sorrow about something that is done or that happens
reject - v. to refuse to accept, use or believe
relations - n. understandings or ties between nations; members of the same family; people connected by marriage or family ties
release - v. to free; to permit to go; to permit to be known or made public
religion - n. a belief in, or the honoring of, a god or gods
remain - v. to stay in a place after others leave; to stay the same
remains - n. a dead body
remember - v. to think about the past; opposite forget
remove - v. to take away or take off; to put an end to; to take out of a position or office
repair - n. work done to fix something
repeat - v. to say or do again
report - v. to tell about; to give the results of a study or investigation; n. the story about an event; the results of a study or investigation; a statement in which the facts may not be confirmed
represent - v. to act in the place of someone else; to substitute for; to serve as an example
repress - v. to control or to restrict freedoms by force
request - v. to ask for; n. the act of asking for
require - v. to need or demand as necessary
rescue - v. to free from danger or evil
research - n. a careful study to discover correct information
resign - v. to leave a position, job or office
resist - v. to oppose; to fight to prevent
resolution - n. an official statement of agreement by a group of people, usually reached by voting
resource - n. anything of value that can be used or sold
responsible - ad. having a duty or job to do ("He is responsible for preparing the report."); being the cause of ("They were responsible for the accident.")
rest - v. to sit, lie down or sleep to regain strength; n. that which remains; the others
restrain - v. to keep controlled; to limit action by a person or group
restrict - v. to limit; to prevent from increasing or becoming larger
result - v. to happen from a cause; n. that which follows or is produced by a cause; effect
retire - v. to leave a job or position because one is old or in poor health
return - v. to go or come back; to bring, give, take or send back
revolt - v. to protest violently; to fight for a change, especially of government
rice - n. a food grain
rich - ad. having much money or goods; having plenty of something
ride - v. to sit on or in and be carried along; to travel by animal, wheeled vehicle, airplane or boat
right - n. what a person legally and morally should be able to do or have ("It is their right to vote."); ad. agreeing with the facts; good; correct; opposite wrong; on the side that is toward the east when one is facing north; opposite left
riot - v. to act with many others in a violent way in a public place; n. a violent action by a large group of people
rise - v. to go up; to go higher; to increase; to go from a position of sitting or lying to a position of standing
risk - n. the chance of loss, damage or injury
river - n. a large amount of water that flows across land into another river, a lake or an ocean
road - n. a long piece of hard ground built between two places so people can walk, drive or ride easily from one place to the other
rob - v. to take money or property secretly or by force; to steal
rock - n. a hard piece of mineral matter
rocket - n. a device shaped like a tube that moves through air or space by burning gases and letting them escape from the back or bottom, sometimes used as a weapon
roll - v. to turn over and over; to move like a ball
room - n. a separate area within a building with its own walls
root - n. the part of a plant that is under the ground and takes nutrients from the soil
rope - n. a long, thick piece of material made from thinner pieces of material, used for tying
rough - ad. not flat or smooth; having an uneven surface; violent; not made well
round - ad. having the shape of a ball or circle
rub - v. to move something over the surface of another thing
rubber - n. a substance made from the liquid of trees with the same name, or a similar substance made from chemicals
ruin - v. to damage severely; to destroy
rule - v. to govern or control; to decide; n. a statement or an order that says how something must be done
run - v. to move quickly by steps faster than those used for walking
This dictionary was created by the VOA (Voice of English) Special English and Voice of America. It makes an excellent starting vocabulary selection for intermediate level learners. This dictionary is used as the basis on which listening selections vocabulary is chosen and can help you understand VOA broadcasts which can be found at the Voice of America Special English site.
