r-word
UK/ˈɑː.wɜːd//ˈɑɹ.wɝd/
r-word noun: the word retard or retarded, regarded as a vulgar or taboo word.
Noun (1)
r-word (plural r-words)
- The word retard or retarded, regarded as a vulgar or taboo word.
- I recently spoke supporting a new name for the President's Committee on Mental Retardation. I suggested it be changed to "President's Committee for People with Developmental Disabilities."2003, James Meadours, “Tell the President Stop using that "R" word”, in Mouth, volume 14, number 3 (Sep/Oct 2003), page 34
- The Tropic Thunder premiere presented a particularly strong opportunity for advocacy groups to make further progress on this front, because the R-word has played a major role in advance viral marketing for the prospective big-budget blockbuster.[…]2008 August 13, “The r-word”, in National Post, Don Mills, Ontario, page A.12
- Synonyms:
- r-slur
- The word rape, regarded as a vulgar or taboo word.
- "Updike can use the `R' word" (rape, he meant) "to describe the love-making (sic) of the two Brazilians and get away with it."1994 April 17, Harvey Porlock, “On the Critical List; Books”, in The Times, London (UK)
- As the viewer of any after-school special can tell you, women shy away from the R word because they blame themselves.2001, Noelle Howie, “By any other name”, in Ms, volume 11, number 2 (Feb/Mar 2001), pages 86—89
- The word redskin or redskins (including Redskins as a team name) regarded as a vulgar or taboo word.
- For years, Native American Indian groups and a wide variety of knee-jerk liberal sympathizers, including me, your humble scrivener, have pointed fingers of shame, shame, shame at the R-word team.1992 September 23, Clarence Page, “Block that trademarked racial epithet”, in The Orlando Sentinel, page A9
- “The r-word is no more acceptable to American Indians than the n-word is to blacks,” one woman stated succinctly in a recent Post letter to the editor […]2001, Bruce Stapleton, Redskins: Racial Slur Or Symbol of Success?, iUniverse, page 49
- Any word beginning with r that is considered (often humorously) to be taboo in the given context.
- Neither Mayor David N. Dinkins nor Mr. Cuomo, though, has been reluctant to invoke the symbolism of another R-word: Republican.1993, Sam Roberts, “Mayoral Campaign Tests The Loyalty of Democrats”, in The New York Times, page B2
- In the second year of a three-year contract, Boggs will be 36 on June 15, but he's not ready to consider the R word—retirement.1994 February 25, Charlie Nobles, “Polonia Gives Boggs a New Dimension”, in The New York Times, page B11
Verb (1)
r-word (third-person singular simple present r-words, present participle r-wording, simple past and past participle r-worded)
- To rape.
Noun (2) capitalized: R-word
R-word (plural R-words)
- Alternative letter-case form of r-word.
Verb (2) capitalized: R-word
R-word (third-person singular simple present R-words, present participle R-wording, simple past and past participle R-worded)
- Alternative letter-case form of r-word.
Examples of r-word in a sentence
- Throughout 2025, influential public figures like Rogan, Musk and Kanye West have used the r-word on platforms where millions can see and hear them.2025 May 31, Scottie Andrew, “The ‘r-word’ is back. How a slur became renormalized”, in CNN, archived from the original on 20 Jul 2025:
- Of late though, the R-word has acquired a dark new meaning with guys leaping out of bushes onto hapless maidens.2009 November 23, “The Indian rape trick”, in The Hindustan Times, New Delhi:
- But never say never, friends make sure to add, knowing that Favre has tossed around the R-word frequently the last three seasons.2009 February 12, Greg Bishop, “No Tears This Time: Jets quarterback cites biceps injury”, in The New York Times, page B13:
Synonyms of r-word
Forms of r-word
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | r-words |
| alternative form | R-word |
| plural | R-words |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | r-words |
| present participle | r-wording |
| past participle | r-worded |
| past | r-worded |
| third-person singular present | R-words |
| present participle | R-wording |
| past participle | R-worded |
| past | R-worded |
Words formed from r-word
Questions about r-word
- What does r-word mean?
- R-word means the word retard or retarded, regarded as a vulgar or taboo word.
- How do you use r-word in a sentence?
- Throughout 2025, influential public figures like Rogan, Musk and Kanye West have used the r-word on platforms where millions can see and hear them.
- What part of speech is r-word?
- R-word can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce r-word?
- R-word is pronounced /ˈɑː.wɜːd/ (UK).
- What is the plural of r-word?
- The plural of r-word is r-words.
Words near r-word in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: r-word (page history and authors); R-word (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-r-word.wav.
Cite this entry: “r-word.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/r-word. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.