rationale, rational
Sometimes confused.
- A rationale is the reason or set of reasons or explanation for something.
- Rational is an adjective meaning “based on or in accordance with reason or logic”.
It’s similar to the distinction between morale and moral.
re-
Hyphenate words beginning with re- only where re means again and only if the hyphen is necessary to make a distinction or to aid readability or pronunciation; otherwise do not hyphenate.
Examples:
- re-form to distinguish from reform
- re-cover to distinguish from recover
- re-enter for better readability than reenter
- regroup
- reiterate
- retest
recur, reoccur
There is some overlap but the two words have subtly different meanings.
- Recur is often used for events that happen repeatedly over time, suggesting a pattern or regular interval.
- Reoccur is used more generally for any event that happens again, without implying a specific frequency or pattern.
re-evaluate
Hyphenated.
reinforce, re-enforce
You can reinforce your effort. You can reinforce your work colleagues. You can also reinforce concrete. You can’t re-enforce any of them. Reinforce means strengthen. It can be used in the physical sense and in the sense of encouraging or supporting people. It’s sometimes incorrectly written as re-enforce, which would mean “compel observance again”.
rein in
When you limit or control something you can be said to rein it in. Take care with the spelling. Sometimes people write “reign in” but that’s incorrect. You can’t reign unless you’re a sovereign head of state or something of the sort.
relay, re-lay
To relay means to pass something on: information or a baton, for example. If you’re talking about laying the foundations anew, make it re‑lay.
restart
No hyphen.
restaurateur
Not restauranteur.
résumé
Another word for CV. Write it with both the accents.
reuse
No hyphen.
rite of passage
Not right of passage.
roadmap
One word.