I. re ‧ tort 1 /rɪˈtɔːt $ -ɔːrt/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: past participle of retorquere 'to twist back, throw back' , from torquere 'to twist' ]
to reply quickly, in an angry or humorous way:
‘It’s all your fault!’ he retorted.
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THESAURUS
▪ answer to say something to someone when they have asked you a question or spoken to you:
You don’t have to answer the question if you don’t want to.
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I said hello to her, but she didn’t answer.
▪ reply to answer someone. Used especially in written English to report what someone said:
‘I’m so sorry,’ he replied.
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We asked Jane to help, but she replied that she was too busy.
▪ respond formal to answer someone:
How do you respond to the allegation that you deliberately deceived your employers?
▪ give somebody an answer to answer someone by telling them what you have decided or giving them a piece of information they asked for:
He asked me to marry him, but I didn’t give him an answer straight away.
▪ get back to somebody to answer someone at a later time especially by telephoning them, usually because you need to think about their question or find out more information:
She’s promised to get back to me as soon as she hears any more news from the hospital.
▪ retort written to answer someone angrily, especially because they have annoyed you or criticized you:
‘You’re not afraid?’ Brenda asked. ‘Of course not,’ he retorted angrily.
II. retort 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Sense 1: Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ retort 1 ]
[ Sense 2: Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: French ; Origin: retorte , from Latin retorquere ( ⇨ ↑ retort 1 ); because of its bent shape ]
1 . a short angry or humorous reply:
He was about to make a sharp retort.
2 . a bottle with a long narrow bent neck, used for heating chemicals
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THESAURUS
▪ answer something you say when someone asks you a question or speaks to you:
I asked if he wanted to come, but I didn’t get an answer.
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If you’re asking me for money, the answer’s no!
▪ reply an answer. Used especially in written English to report what someone said:
She asked how he felt, and received the reply, ‘Awful!’
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‘Finished now?’ ‘No,' came the reply.
▪ response an answer that clearly shows your reaction to a question, suggestion etc:
Wagner’s responses showed that he had thought carefully about the issues.
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‘Sure. Why not?’ was his response to most of Billie’s suggestions.
▪ retort written an angry answer given when someone has annoyed you or criticized you:
Isabelle began an angry retort and then stopped herself.
▪ comeback a quick answer that is clever, funny, or rude:
He walked out before I could think of a snappy comeback.
▪ riposte formal a quick and clever answer:
Anna produced the perfect riposte.
▪ rejoinder formal a quick answer, especially a clever or rude one:
If he confronts them, he’ll run the risk of a sharp rejoinder.