John Ronald Reuel Tolkien john·ro·nald·reueltolkien uncommon noun 1. British philologist and writer of fantasies (born in South Africa) (1892-1973) SynonymsTolkienJ.R.R. TolkienJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien Related words Broader terms philologistwriter WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved.