<B>risibility, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the ability or inclination to laugh. <BR><I>expr. <B>risibilities,</B> </I>the desire to laugh; sense of humor. <BR> <I>Ex. The articles are concerned ... with the writers' lives, sensibilities and risibilities (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="risible">
<B>risible, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> able or inclined to laugh. <DD><B> 1. </B>of laughter; used in laughter. <BR> <I>Ex. By and by something would be said to touch his risible faculties (W. H. Hudson).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>causing laughter; amusing; funny; comical. <BR> <I>Ex. a few wild blunders and risible absurdities (Samuel Johnson).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="rising">
<B>rising, </B>noun, adjective, preposition.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the act of a person or thing that rises. <BR> <I>Ex. the rising of the sun. Seven o'clock is my hour for rising.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a fight against the government; rebellion; revolt. <BR> <I>Ex. There was a rising now in Kent, my Lord of Norwich being at the head of them (John Evelyn).</I> (SYN) insurrection. <DD><B> 3. </B>(U.S.) <DD><B> a. </B>a quantity of dough set to rise. <DD><B> b. </B>the time dough is let rise before baking. <BR> <I>Ex. a short rising.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Dialect.) an abnormal swelling, such as a boil, tumor, or abscess. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>that rises: <DD><B> a. </B>having an upward slope. <BR> <I>Ex. rising ground.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>mounting. <BR> <I>Ex. a rising temperature, rising anger.</I> <DD><B> c. </B>appearing above the horizon. <BR> <I>Ex. the rising sun.</I> <DD><B> d. </B>increasing. <BR> <I>Ex. a rising wind.</I> <DD><B> e. </B>advancing in power, influence, etc.. <BR> <I>Ex. a rising young lawyer.</I> <DD><B> f. </B>growing. <BR> <I>Ex. the rising generation.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Prosody.) (of a foot or rhythm) increasing in stress; having the ictus at the end. <DD><I>prep. </I> <B>1. </B>approaching; about. <BR> <I>Ex. a horse rising five years old. Now, rising sixty-seven, he gets to Yankee Stadium daily before the first eager rookie (Saturday Review).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S. Informal.) somewhat more than. <BR> <I>Ex. The enclosure contains something rising forty acres (Outing Magazine).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="risingdiphthong">
<B>rising diphthong,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a diphthong having more stress on the second element than on the first, as the element <I>i</I> of the diphthong <I>wi</I> in the word <I>win.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="risk">
<B>risk, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a chance of harm or loss; danger. <BR> <I>Ex. He rescued the dog at the risk of his own life. If you drive carefully, there is no risk of being fined.</I> (SYN) hazard, peril, jeopardy. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person or thing with reference to the chance of loss from insuring him or it. <BR> <I>Ex. Very fat men and drunkards are not good risks. Racing drivers are poor risks.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>the amount of possible loss. <DD><B> 4. </B>an insurance obligation. <BR> <I>Ex. Our company has no risks in that city.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to expose to the chance of harm or loss. <BR> <I>Ex. to risk one's health. You risk your neck in trying to climb that tree. A soldier risks his life. To risk the certainty of little for the chance of much (Samuel Johnson).</I> (SYN) hazard, endanger, imperil, jeopardize. <DD><B> 2. </B>to take the risk of. <BR> <I>Ex. They risked getting wet. She risked defeat in running against the popular candidate.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to bet; hazard. <BR> <I>Ex. to risk $85 on a horse race.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>at risk,</B> (British.) <DD><B> a. </B>in danger; imperiled. </I> <I>Ex. The dismissal of two senior ministers and the resignation of a third in the small hours of yesterday morning shows that that policy is now at risk (London Times).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>running the risk of becoming pregnant. <BR> <I>Ex. There must be at least 10 million married women "at risk" in this country (New Scientist).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>run</B> (or <B>take</B>) <B>a risk,</B> </I>to expose oneself to the chance of harm or loss. <BR> <I>Ex. In order to win the war we had to take the risk of offending neutral nations.</I> noun <B>risker.</B> adj. <B>riskless.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="riskcapital">
<B>risk capital,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> capital not covered by collateral and invested at the risk of a loss in the hope of profit; venture capital. <BR> <I>Ex. It was risk capital from the United States which sparked many of Canada's major raw material development programs (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="risky">
<B>risky, </B>adjective, <B>riskier,</B> <B>riskiest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>full of risk; dangerous. <BR> <I>Ex. It's a risky thing getting mixed in any matters with the like of you (John M. Synge).</I> (SYN) hazardous, perilous, precarious, unsafe. <DD><B> 2. </B>somewhat improper; risque. adv. <B>riskily.</B> noun <B>riskiness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="risorgimento">
<B>Risorgimento, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ti.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the revival of the political movement for the unification of Italy about 1815. </DL>
<A NAME="risotto">
<B>risotto, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a dish consisting of rice cooked in olive oil, then chicken broth, and served with the meat of the chicken, grated cheese, and a tomato sauce. </DL>
<A NAME="risque">
<B>risque, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> suggestive of indecency; somewhat improper. <BR> <I>Ex. a risque joke.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="riss">
<B>Riss, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Geology.) the third glaciation of the Pleistocene in Europe. </DL>
<A NAME="rissole">
<B>rissole, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) a fried ball or cake of meat or fish mixed with breadcrumbs, egg, and seasoning. </DL>
<A NAME="rissole">
<B>rissole, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) browned in hot fat (in the oven or on top of the stove). </DL>
<A NAME="rit">
<B>rit.</B> or <B>ritard.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> ritardando. </DL>
<B>ritardando, </B>adjective, adverb, noun, pl. <B>-dos,</B> <B>-di.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) <DD><I>adj., adv. </I> becoming gradually slower. <DD><I>noun </I> a gradual decrease of speed. </DL>
<A NAME="rite">
<B>rite</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a solemn ceremony; formal procedure or act in a religious or other observance. Most churches have rites for baptism, marriage, and burial. Secret societies have their special rites. <DD><B> 2. </B>a particular form or system of ceremonies. The Roman Catholic Church uses a Latin rite. <DD><B> 3. </B>a part of the Christian church distinguished by its liturgy. <DD><B> 4. </B>any customary ceremony or observance. <BR> <I>Ex. He omitted such empty rites as saying "Yes" or "Please" (Arnold Bennett).</I> adj. <B>riteless.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="rite">
<B>rite</B> (2), adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (of an academic degree, as granted or obtained) in the proper or prescribed manner; not as an honorary distinction. </DL>
<A NAME="ritedepassage">
<B>rite de passage, </B>pl. <B>rites de passage.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a rite or ceremony that marks such occasions as birth, naming, puberty, and marriage, especially in primitive societies. <DD><B> 2. </B>(literally) rite of passage. </DL>
<A NAME="ritenuto">
<B>ritenuto, </B>adjective, adverb, noun, pl. <B>-tos,</B> <B>-ti.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) <DD><I>adj., adv. </I> becoming suddenly slower. <DD><I>noun </I> a sudden decrease of speed. </DL>
<A NAME="riteofpassage">
<B>rite of passage,</B> <B>=rite de passage.</B></DL>
<A NAME="ritornello">
<B>ritornello, </B>noun, pl. <B>-li,</B> <B>-los,</B> <B>-loes.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) <DD><B> 1. </B>an instrumental part in a piece of music written for solo or choral voice. <DD><B> 2. </B>one of the orchestral parts in a concerto for a particular instrument. </DL>
<A NAME="ritter">
<B>Ritter, </B>noun, pl. <B>Ritter.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (German.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a knight. <DD><B> 2. </B>a member of a low order of the nobility in Germany and Austria. </DL>
<A NAME="ritual">
<B>ritual, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a form or system of rites. The rites of baptism, marriage, and burial are parts of the ritual of most churches. Secret societies have a ritual for initiating new members. <DD><B> 2. </B>a book containing rites or ceremonies. <DD><B> 3. </B>the carrying out of rites. <BR> <I>Ex. ... hear the ritual of the dead (Tennyson). 17 teenagers gravely went through a ritual familiar to Boy Scouts the world over (Time).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with rites or rituals; done as a rite. <BR> <I>Ex. a ritual dance, ritual laws. As through a zodiac, moves the ritual year of England's Church (Wordsworth).</I> adv. <B>ritually.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="ritualism">
<B>ritualism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>fondness for ritual; insistence upon ritual. <DD><B> 2. </B>the study of ritual practices or religious rites. </DL>
<A NAME="rexine">
<B>Rexine, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Trademark.) an artificial leather used in upholstery and bindings for books. </DL>
<A NAME="ritualistic">
<B>ritualistic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having to do with ritual or ritualism. <DD><B> 2. </B>fond of ritual. adv. <B>ritualistically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="ritualize">
<B>ritualize, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to make into or be a ritual. <BR> <I>Ex. the ritualized gift-giving of the Kwakiutl, Haida, and other tribes of the Northwest Coast of North America (Melville J. Herskovits).</I> noun <B>ritualization.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="ritualmurder">
<B>ritual murder,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the killing of a human being as a sacrifice to a deity. </DL>
<A NAME="ritzy">
<B>ritzy, </B>adjective, <B>ritzier,</B> <B>ritziest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Slang.) smart; stylish; gaudy; classy. <BR> <I>Ex. Baia, a few miles north of Naples, was Rome's ritziest seaside resort (Time).</I> adv. <B>ritzily.</B> noun <B>ritziness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="riv">
<B>riv.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> river. </DL>
<A NAME="rivage">
<B>rivage, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) a bank; coast; shore. </DL>
