reply
1 of 2verb
intransitive verb
transitive verb
reply
2 of 2noun
Synonyms
Verb
- react
- respond
Noun
- answer
- reaction
- response
- take
Example Sentences
Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 12 Sep. 2022 The campaign did not reply to questions about Evans' relationship with Oz, or his role as trustee for the property. Graham Kates, CBS News, 6 Sep. 2022 That exclusive group will then be the only ones who can see or reply to your tweet. WIRED, 5 Sep. 2022 Shamoun did not reply to questions about the PPP loan or his claims about gold records and working with major artists. Craig Silverman, ProPublica, 31 Aug. 2022 Bernard did not reply to email and text messages from The Associated Press seeking comment. Tom Davies, BostonGlobe.com, 14 July 2022 Reps for Headey and Marvel did not reply to Variety’s requests for comment by publication time. K.j. Yossman, Variety, 30 June 2022 Authorities have not addressed the allegations publicly, and officials at the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women in York did not reply to requests for comment. Char Adams, NBC News, 29 June 2022 The mother did not reply to Rolling Stone‘s request for clarification. Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 23 June 2022 Will Van Der Sanden, Forbes, 24 June 2022 Agrawal's initial 13 tweets were met with a reply from Musk that was reflective of the unusual and extremely online nature of the deal: a poop emoji. Rishi Iyengar, CNN, 16 May 2022 His reply: ‘Beautiful things have to be maintained. Vogue, 25 Apr. 2022 The ballots were mailed to Juneau from rural communities — which lack the machines to scan the ballots — by business reply mail. Iris Samuels, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Sep. 2022 In Wednesday night's reply, Corcoran and fellow Trump lawyers Lindsey Halligan and James Trusty said none of the prosecutors' claims should prevent the appointment of a special master. Devlin Barrett, BostonGlobe.com, 31 Aug. 2022 William Byrd, a development economist formerly with the World Bank in Kabul, now at the United States Institute of Peace, argued in reply that the Afghan central bank is in no position to manage billions of dollars productively. Steve Coll, The New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2022 Kirby also declined to provide details of the U.S. reply. Karen Deyoung, Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2022 The defendants have not filed a reply as of this writing. Will Taylor, Outside Online, 19 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
Verb
Middle English replien "to fold back, oppose, repeat, respond verbally, deny, answer a legal charge," borrowed from Anglo-French replier, reploier "to bend back, respond, answer, make a replication," in part continuing continental Old & Middle French repleier, reploier "to refold (something) unfolded," replié "something folded back" (from re- re- + plier "to fold, bend"), in part going back to Latin replicāre "to turn back on itself, bend back, unroll (a papyrus book), go over (a thought, topic) repeatedly, make a replication" (Late Latin also "to restore, repeat, reply") — more at ply entry 3, replicate entry 1
Note: Note that continental Old and Middle French repleier and its variants (continued by modern French replier) refer only to literal folding and lack the metaphoric senses of Latin and Late Latin replicāre. This has led some references (Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Trésor de la langue française) to treat repleier as a new formation from re- and plier. The Anglo-French verb, however, continues extended senses of Latin replicāre, in particular the legal sense, and suggests that it is either a direct descendant of replicāre or was formed as its equivalent on the model of other verbs ending in -plier (compare etymologies of apply, imply). Anglo-French repliquer was borrowed directly from the Latin verb (with correspondents in Old and Middle French; compare Modern French répliquer) and was apparently not taken up by Middle English.
Noun
derivative of reply entry 1
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a
Noun
1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing reply
Kids Definition
reply 1 of 2
verb
reply
2 of 2noun
Legal Definition
reply
noun
reply 1 of 2
verb
Synonyms & Similar Words
- respond
- react
- answer
- return
- read
- understand
- retaliate
- interpret
- construe
- manage
- handle
- take
- negotiate
- cope (with)
- contend (with)
- grapple (with)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- act
- cause
- draw
- behave
- affect
- effect
Synonyms & Similar Words
- respond
- answer
- comment
- retort
- react
- riposte
- remark
- return
- rejoin
- come back
- acknowledge
- explain
- counter
- field
- correspond
- communicate
- rebut
- refute
- defend
- deny
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- ask
- question
- inquire
- examine
- challenge
- quiz
- interrogate
- query
- survey
- pump
- grill
- poll
- cross-examine
reply
2 of 2noun
Synonyms & Similar Words
- response
- answer
- reaction
- take
- backlash
- reflex
- rebound
- recoil
- revulsion
- kickback
- counterresponse
- counterreaction
- rise
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- action
- effect
- behavior
- cause
Synonyms & Similar Words
- response
- answer
- rejoinder
- reaction
- retort
- return
- comment
- remark
- replication
- feedback
- explanation
- back talk
- comeback
- rebuttal
- observation
- banter
- acknowledgement
- acknowledgment
- repartee
- communication
- refutation
- justification
- non sequitur
- correspondence
- plea
- persiflage
- defense
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- question
- inquiry
- query
- interrogatory
- challenge
- survey
- quiz
- interrogation
- charge
- questionnaire
- poll
- grilling
- cross-examination
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of reply are answer, rejoinder, response, and retort. While all these words mean "something spoken, written, or done in return," reply often suggests a thorough response to all issues, points, or questions raised.
Although the words answer and reply have much in common, answer implies the satisfying of a question, demand, call, or need.
The meanings of rejoinder and reply largely overlap; however, rejoinder can be a response to a reply or to an objection.
The words response and reply can be used in similar contexts, but response may imply a quick or spontaneous reaction to a person or thing that serves as a stimulus.
In some situations, the words retort and reply are roughly equivalent. However, retort implies a reaction to an implicit or explicit charge, criticism, or attack which contains a countercharge or counterattack.