My Favorite Word » R

Rhetoric

admin — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:14:52 +0000

My favourite word is rhetoric because it’s such a pleasure to say out loud. Your tongue sweeps down the roof on your mouth before the word ends with a sharp little flourish in the back of your throat. Nabokov makes a similar observation about the name ‘Lolita’ – I love the way that words can be very sensual and enjoyable to say regardless of their meaning.

Rachel

Ridiculous

admin — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:07:54 +0000

I like this word for the many emotions in life it can convey. It can mean anything from pathetic to overly humorous to nonsensical. I generally use the word as a sort of expletive in response to something that was, well, ridiculous. That encompasses so many situations in life it’s really unbelievable. I also appreciate how you can emphasize any one of the syllables, or all at the same time to get your point across: “That was RI-DIC-U-LOUS!” Another favorite pronunciation is “ri-DIC-ulous.”

Emily
USA

Requiem

admin — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:43:36 +0000

Because it sounds calm, noble, embracing and comforting. But isn’t.

Peter Ferguson
Kimberley
Ontario
Canada

Mahogany

admin — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 02:39:16 +0000

It just feels good to say it and hear it. It rolls out of the mouth.

Rell
San Francisco

Retroworter

admin — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 06:07:52 +0000

Retroworter is the German word for ‘palindrome’ (which is a word you can read backwards, and still stays the same word, like ‘level’). The word Retroworter literally means ‘turn around word’ and the best part is that it’s a palindrome itself. That’s why it is my favorite word.

Jodi
Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Respect

admin — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 06:00:20 +0000

The word respect is important to me because you need to feel respected. If you don’t feel respected then no one will respect you. Respect means an assumption of good faith in another person or in the whole of oneself. To me respect means to have an admiration for someone and or yourself. You see, I have been disrespected and I had to find out the hard way how to respect myself. My last relationship I was getting beat because I wanted to live life. I let a man slap me around because I didn’t respect myself. I had to get tough and start worrying about myself and get out of a bad relationship. I did and ever since I have been living my life to the fullest and I respect myself more than you can think of. I love me for me so I don’t need to get loved by no one else.

Zuheid Santiago
Bristol,CT

Runt

admin — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 05:56:22 +0000

I love this word. It’s so direct and to the point. It reminds me of a litter of pups or kittens and the runt is always the nicest. Plus it reminds me of one of my best friends, we call each other runts!

Claire McMahon

Rhinotelexomania

admin — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:00:16 +0000

Think about it. Rhino, like rhinoplasty, or nose surgery, means nose. Tele, like telekinesis, means operating over a distance. Mania obviously means you’re crazy about it. Put them all together and you get a chronic nose picker. I’m not making this up. It’s not in every dictionary, but it’s real. For bonus points, can you guess what a rhinolith is?

anonymous

Regardless

admin — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:32:20 +0000

I tend to digress a lot when I speak, making “regardless” the ultimate safety net. Useful for stopping other peoples’ tangents in their tracks, too. Someone starts to go off-topic, just slap ‘em with a “regardless” and throw your hands in the air. Works every time.

Peter
Pittsburgh

Redundant

admin — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 23:42:10 +0000

I hear and read so much of it, decided it had to be pretty special. Looked it up to make sure, and sure enough it was. I mean, isn’t something expressed over and over and over again, trying to make a point; like someone needs a memory pill if nothing else.

Claire
Portland, OR

Rustle

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 05:02:16 +0000

It brings up memories of soft breezes stirring up the countryside in seasons past. There was a tree near my childhood home which had a thick verdure of dangling, roughly circular leaves. When the wind ran through them, it would let out a soft whisper like a muffled rain stick. The word rustle embodies for me the gentler side of nature; just saying it in my head can send me into calming daydreams.

Guillaume Riesen

Ruminant

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 03:49:27 +0000

I just like how it sounds, especially when considering that it is a term used to identify livestock.

Jon R.
USA