respond
/rɪˈspɒnd
/verb
1 [reporting verb] Say something in reply: [no object]: she could not get Robert to respond to her words [with clause]: he responded that it would not be feasible [with direct speech]: ‘It’s not part of my job,’ Belinda responded...
- Tess opened her mouth to respond to his last comment, but he stopped her by grabbing her shoulder.
- Go to our message boards to respond to Andrew's comments.
- Her office did not respond to requests for comment Friday.
Synonyms
answer, reply to, say something in response to;
acknowledge, greet, counter;
make a response, make a rejoinder, make a riposte, make reply, come back
say in response, answer, reply, rejoin, retort, return, riposte, counter, fling back, hurl back, retaliate, come back
1.1(Of a congregation) say or sing the response in reply to a priest.Encourage soloists or small ensembles to sing the stanzas while the congregation responds with the refrain....
- The windows were open, so I could hear the priest say mass and ring his handbell, and hear the parishioners respond and sing.
- Line-singing is an ancient form of worship where a precentor, or leader, sings the first line of a psalm and the congregation responds, finishing off the verse.
2 [no object] (Of a person) do something as a reaction to someone or something: she responded to his grin with a smile...
- The volunteers appealed to the public to cooperate and many visitors responded to this call by taking cloth and paper bags.
- I think people are clearly responding to politics differently.
- It's a good plan, and it's a plan that people are responding to.
2.1React quickly or positively to a stimulus or treatment: his back injury has failed to respond to treatment...
- Thirty percent of the patients appeared to respond positively to this treatment intervention.
- If it occurs it will respond quickly to local treatment.
- These positive symptoms usually respond well to treatment.
Synonyms
react to, act in response to, make a response;
hit back at, take the bait, rise to the bait, reciprocate, return the favour, retaliate, give as good as one gets, give tit for tat
2.2 [with object] Bridge Make (a bid) in answer to one’s partner’s preceding bid: to partner’s opening one heart it is dangerous to respond two clubs [no object]: East would have responded holding a high spade honour plus an ace...
- Don't respond at the level two, if you have less than 11 points, unless, you are supporting your partner.
- Partner must respond in best minor suit and and should never bid 3NT.
- If your partner doubles in second seat, you must respond if your RHO passes.
noun
1 Architecture A half-pillar or half-pier attached to a wall to support an arch, especially at the end of an arcade.The E and W responds of both nave arcades are Romanesque....
- The arcade is carried on half-round responds at E and W ends, pier 1 on either side is round, pier 2 (corresponding to the original W wall of the nave) is square with half-round responds to E and W.
- The original pillars may have been clustered like the east respond or octagonal like that at the west, and fragments of such pillars are among the stones lying in the north-west vestry.
2(In church use) a response to a versicle; a responsory.This small Respond is written by Lassus for 4 voices....
- Text and music do not necessarily coincide in their classification: a ferial text may have a seasonal melody; equally a seasonal, proper or common text may use a ferial melody (eg a short respond or versicle and response).
- After the repetition of the Antiphon at the end of the last Psalm of a Nocturn, is said the appropriate Versicle and Respond according to the Office of the Day.
Derivatives
respondence
- These points often show an appreciation for individuation (uniqueness) and uncertainty in local conditions, and suggest that infringements on freedom prevent proper respondence.
- The overall respondence rates were 64.5 and 63%, respectively.
- The research on the respondence and feedback of modern sand deserts to the climate change is an important component part in the studies on the global climate change.
respondency
responder
- Most cities do not have the necessary equipment to determine what kind of hazardous materials emergency responders may be facing.
- The emergency responders discovered a home laboratory containing bacteria samples, petri dishes and equipment to analyze DNA.
- Even when so-called placebo responders are dropped from a study, a good proportion of the remaining patients respond to placebos anyway.
Origin
Late Middle English (as a noun): from Old French, from respondre 'to answer', from Latin respondere, from re- 'again' + spondere 'to pledge'. The verb dates from the mid 16th century.