RESPONDENT

[noun] [C] [specialized]A respondent is a person who answers a request for information.In a recent opinion poll, a majority of respondents were against nuclear weapons.(legal) In a civil law case (= a case which deals with matters that are not criminal), the respondent is the person against whom a petition (= a formal letter to the court requesting a particular action) is made, esp. in a divorce case.She divorced the respondent on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour. Compare co-respondent.