Retort — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)

a vessel where substances are distilled or decomposed by heat

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ɹᵻtˈɔːɹt/

🇬🇧British English

/ɹɪtˈɔːt/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ɹɪtˈɔːt/

2 syllables Say it as /ɹᵻtˈɔːɹt/.

Examples

it brought a sharp rejoinder from the teacher

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

rejoinder come back repay replication riposte comeback counter rejoin return

Parts of Speech

noun	a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one) “it brought a sharp rejoinder from the teacher”
noun	a vessel where substances are distilled or decomposed by heat
verb	answer back

Word Forms

retort	verb	answer back
return	verb	answer back
riposte	verb	answer back
come back	verb	answer back
counter	verb	speak in response
retort	noun	a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)
comeback	noun	a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)
return	noun	a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)
riposte	noun	a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Retorte

eine schnelle Antwort auf eine Frage oder Bemerkung (insbesondere eine witzige oder kritische)

🇫🇷French

cornue

une réponse rapide à une question ou une remarque (en particulier une question spirituelle ou critique)

🇪🇸Spanish

retorta

una respuesta rápida a una pregunta o comentario (especialmente uno ingenioso o crítico)

🇮🇹Italian

storta

una risposta rapida a una domanda o un'osservazione (soprattutto se spiritosa o critica)

🇳🇱Dutch

antwoord

een snel antwoord op een vraag of opmerking (vooral een geestige of kritische opmerking)

🇵🇹Portuguese

retorta

uma resposta rápida a uma pergunta ou comentário (especialmente um comentário espirituoso ou crítico)

🇷🇺Russian

возражать

быстрый ответ на вопрос или замечание (особенно остроумное или критическое)

India

🇮🇳Hindi

प्रत्युत्तर

किसी प्रश्न या टिप्पणी का त्वरित उत्तर (विशेष रूप से मजाकिया या आलोचनात्मक)

🇧🇩Bengali

প্রতিক্রিয়া

একটি প্রশ্ন বা মন্তব্যের একটি দ্রুত উত্তর (বিশেষ করে একটি মজাদার বা সমালোচনামূলক)

🇮🇳Tamil

பதிலடி

ஒரு கேள்வி அல்லது கருத்துக்கு விரைவான பதில் (குறிப்பாக நகைச்சுவையான அல்லது விமர்சனமானது)

🇮🇳Telugu

ప్రత్యుత్తరం

ప్రశ్న లేదా వ్యాఖ్యకు శీఘ్ర ప్రత్యుత్తరం (ముఖ్యంగా చమత్కారమైన లేదా క్లిష్టమైనది)

🇮🇳Marathi

प्रतिवाद

एखाद्या प्रश्नाचे किंवा टिप्पणीचे द्रुत उत्तर (विशेषत: विनोदी किंवा गंभीर)

🇮🇳Gujarati

જવાબ

પ્રશ્ન અથવા ટિપ્પણીનો ઝડપી જવાબ (ખાસ કરીને વિનોદી અથવા વિવેચનાત્મક)

🇮🇳Kannada

ಮರುಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ

ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ ಅಥವಾ ಟೀಕೆಗೆ ತ್ವರಿತ ಪ್ರತ್ಯುತ್ತರ (ವಿಶೇಷವಾಗಿ ಹಾಸ್ಯದ ಅಥವಾ ವಿಮರ್ಶಾತ್ಮಕವಾದದ್ದು)

🇮🇳Malayalam

തിരിച്ചടിക്കുക

ഒരു ചോദ്യത്തിനോ പരാമർശത്തിനോ ഉള്ള പെട്ടെന്നുള്ള മറുപടി (പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് തമാശയുള്ളതോ വിമർശനാത്മകമായതോ ആയ ഒന്ന്)

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਜਵਾਬ

ਕਿਸੇ ਸਵਾਲ ਜਾਂ ਟਿੱਪਣੀ ਦਾ ਤੁਰੰਤ ਜਵਾਬ (ਖ਼ਾਸਕਰ ਇੱਕ ਮਜ਼ੇਦਾਰ ਜਾਂ ਨਾਜ਼ੁਕ)

🇵🇰Urdu

جواب دینا

کسی سوال یا تبصرہ کا فوری جواب (خاص طور پر ایک لطیف یا تنقیدی)

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

反驳

对问题或评论的快速答复（尤其是诙谐或批评的）

🇯🇵Japanese

レトルト

質問や発言（特に機知に富んだ発言や批判的な発言）に対する素早い返答

🇰🇷Korean

레토르트

질문이나 발언에 대한 빠른 답변(특히 재치 있거나 비판적인 것)

🇻🇳Vietnamese

vặn lại

câu trả lời nhanh cho một câu hỏi hoặc nhận xét (đặc biệt là một câu hỏi dí dỏm hoặc phê phán)

🇹🇭Thai

โต้กลับ

การตอบคำถามหรือคำพูดอย่างรวดเร็ว (โดยเฉพาะคำถามที่มีไหวพริบหรือวิพากษ์วิจารณ์)

🇮🇩Indonesian

membalas

balasan cepat untuk pertanyaan atau komentar (terutama yang jenaka atau kritis)

🇵🇭Filipino

pakli

isang mabilis na tugon sa isang tanong o komento (lalo na sa isang nakakatawa o kritikal)

🇲🇾Malay

balas balik

jawapan pantas kepada soalan atau teguran (terutamanya soalan yang jenaka atau kritikal)

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

معوجة

الرد السريع على سؤال أو ملاحظة (خاصة تلك الذكية أو الناقدة)

🇮🇷Persian

پاسخ دادن

پاسخ سریع به یک سوال یا تذکر (مخصوصاً شوخی یا انتقادی)

🇹🇷Turkish

imbik

Bir soruya veya yoruma hızlı bir yanıt (özellikle esprili veya eleştirel bir yanıt)

🇮🇱Hebrew

אַבִּיק

תשובה מהירה לשאלה או הערה (במיוחד שנונה או ביקורתית)

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'retort'?

The primary meaning of 'retort' is 'a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'retort' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'retort' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'retort' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'retort' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'retort' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'retort' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'retort' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'retort' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'retort' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'retort' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted