This section serves to expand your regular vocabulary. What separates the men from the boys (or the women from the girls, if you want to equalize things) is v o c a b u l a r y. We cannot stress this point enough. People who have a larger vocabulary have been shown to make more money and get promoted more often.

R

raison d’etre

(pronounced RAY-zawn-DET-treh OR RAY-zone-DET-treh)

A French term literally translated as “reason for being.” It is used to mean the purpose justifying one’s (or a thing’s) existence.

Example: Having been captivated and obsessed with antiquities all his life, the importer’s raison d’etre was his many jaunts to Europe for private estate auctions.

regardless

(pronounced rih-GARD-luss)

This word is so basic, yet it has been entangled in a great deal of controversy because people starting using the word “irregardless” interchangeably. Though irregardless is officially acceptable, the simpler “regardless” is the standard and preferable. So what does it mean? Despite everything. How easy is that?

Example: Due to the slippage in the construction schedule, Sally knew that the next morning’s project meeting with the contractor and client was going to be extremely tense, but she accepted that duty called and assured her boss that she would attend regardless of her feelings of dread.

remunerate

(pronounced rih-MYU-nuh-rayt)

If you have a hard time pronouncing this word, you are not alone. (The combination of sounds often turns one’s mouth to mush.) This verb means to pay an equivalent for or, going a bit further, to pay an equivalent to for a service, loss, or expense.

Example: Robert’s letter of agreement that he had all of his clients sign clearly spelled out that he was to be remunerated for expenses, fees and costs beyond the original contract price that resulted from the client’s changes to the original plan and scope of work.

repertoire

(pronounced REH-pehr-twahr or REH-peh-twahr)

We’re sure that you’ve heard this fun-to-say French-sounding word applied to a list of pieces that a singer, musician, or actor is prepared to perform. But did you know that you can also apply this same term to your own list of skills and talents (i.e., space planning, drawing with AutoCAD, writing specifications, etc.)? Not only that, but you can use it to mean simply a supply or quantity, as in our example sentence. (Just don’t use it too much or people will think you’re pretentious. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.)

Example: Victor had built the firm’s design library into an amazing resource; it contained a never-ending repertoire of valuable samples and spec sheets, and the top manufacturers’ reps fought for premium space on its shelves.

repudiate

(pronounced rih-PYU-dee-ayt)

This word is so strong. When you use it, you will definitely sound like you mean business. It means either to rebuff as unjust or false or to disown or refuse to have anything to do with. See what we mean?

Example sentence: The artist repudiated the charges that he had overcharged Jessica’s client by over $2,000 for material expenses for the mural that he was painting in the hotel’s lobby.

riff

(pronounced RIHF)

This succinct word embodies a great deal of energy and, thereby, represents its various meanings quite well. Used as a noun, it can mean a) a quick, solo musical improvisation by a performer; b) a short-n-snappy, witty comment; c) a fast-n-funny, often off-the-cuff, verbal outburst; or d) an interpretation of a component of a composition when creating something new. Likewise, the term can be transformed into a verb when describing the delivery of any of these things.

Example: When Frank began concepting a design for the talk show’s new set, he riffed on the sleek, simplistic elements found in the talk show sets from the 1950s, interpreting them in new materials for a fresh approach.

risqué

(pronounced rih-SKAY)

A sophisticated sounding word to describe something bordering on bawdiness, indecency or full-on offensiveness.

Example: Often being the only female on the job site, Farrah had learned to ignore, tolerate, and sometimes even enjoy the risqué jokes the construction workers told each other on a daily basis.

roman à clef

(pronounced roh-MAHN ah-CLAY)

This French term literally means “novel with a key.” In our terms, it means a novel or story that features actual people and events, but under the guise of fiction.

Example: Mark felt as if he did not have enough years with the firm to directly expose the sexual harassment he suspected his female colleagues on the healthcare design project team had been enduring from their team leader, so he wrote and circulated a roman à clef in the form of a company-wide email, which encouraged the victims to speak up, and, eventually, led to the team leader’s termination.

rote

(pronounced ROHT)

As a noun, rote means unconscious, mechanical routine or repetition or the use of recall, often with little brainpower. As an adjective, rote means learned or memorized by rote.

Example: Learning the parameters by rote worked for Vivica when she went to take the LEED AP Exam, but it certainly didn’t do her any good when she found herself trying to explain to her firm’s client the intricate details and philosophy behind certain benchmarks found in the LEED Certification system.

rube

(pronounced roob)

Love this word! There’s just something about the way it rolls off the tongue that puts a smile on your face. Ironically, it’s not a very kind word. It describes someone who is unsophisticated, naïve, inexperienced and/or a bit awkward. (Luckily, there’s always room for self-improvement!)

Example: After just a week on the job, the subcontractors on Gillian’s job quit en masse because they were sick of being handled as rubes by the supervisor / general contractor running the construction site.

rudimentary

(pronounced roo-deh-MEHN-teh-ree or roo-deh-MEHN-tree)

In a nutshell: basic, fundamental, rather primitive in nature, or crudely developed.

Example: When he dropped by his favorite millworker’s to pick up the shop drawings, Jackson was absolutely stunned at how rudimentary the craftsman’s set-up was compared to his competitors.