real Is it really necessary? When used to mean after taking inflation into account, it is legitimate. In other contexts (Investors are showing real interest in the country, but Colombians wonder if real prosperity will ever arrive) it is often better left out.
rebut, refute Rebut means repel or meet in argument. Refute, which is stronger, means disprove. Neither should be used as a synonym for deny. “Shakespeare never has six lines together without a fault. Perhaps you may find seven: but this does not refute my general assertion.” (Samuel Johnson)
red and blue In Britain, colours that are associated with socialism and conservatism respectively; in the United States, colours that are associated with Republicans and Democrats respectively. They are very confusing to the large number of readers who associate red with the political left, and should therefore be avoided, except in an exclusively American context.
redact in Latin means bring back. It is now also used to mean obscure, blot out, obliterate, as when testimony thought harmful to national security is officially blacked out in documents. Use it only in that narrowly technical sense.
redolent means smelling of, fragrant. Do not therefore write redolent of the smell of linseed oil and turpentine.
reduce, diminish, lessen, shrink are not interchangeable. Reduce is transitive, so must be followed by a noun. Diminish and shrink can be transitive or intransitive. So can lessen, though it is usually used before a noun.
redux A word often dropped into headlines by pretentious people anxious to impress. It is seldom clear what they mean. Avoid.
references see footnotes, sources, references in Part 3.
regrettably means to be regretted. Do not confuse with regretfully, used of someone showing regret.
relationship is a long word often better replaced by relations. The two countries hope for a better relationship means The two countries hope for better relations. But relationship is an appropriate word for two people in a close friendship.
report on not into.
Republican A long word, but not so long that it needs replacing with red (see above), or GOP (for Grand Old Party), which is as meaningless as red to non-American readers.
reshuffle, resupply Shuffle and supply will do, except for British Cabinets, which are reshuffled from time to time.
resources, resourceful Resourceful is a useful word; the term natural resources, less satisfactory, also has its merits. Most other uses of resource tend to be vile.
revert means return to or go back to, as in The garden has reverted to wilderness. It does not mean come back to or get back to, as in I’ll give you an answer as soon as I can.
Richter scale Beloved of journalists, the Richter scale is unknown to seismologists. The strength of an earthquake is its magnitude, so say an earthquake of magnitude 8.9. See earthquakes in Part 3.
ring, wring (verbs) bells are rung; hands are wrung. Both may be seen at weddings.
rock A working definition of a rock is a stone too large to throw. You should also be aware of the Law of the Sea definition: “A landmass permanently above water but unable to sustain human habitation.”
Roma is the name of the people. Their language is Romany. Remember that Sinti are also gypsies.
run In countries with a presidential system you may run for office. In those with a parliamentary one, you stand.
Russian names see names.