a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one); "it brought a sharp rejoinder from the teacher"
Used in a Sentence
retort
How to use retort in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for retort.
Editorial note
The author of that retort redefines "sour grapes".
Examples10
Definitions3
Parts of speech2
Quick take
a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one); "it brought a sharp rejoinder from the teacher"
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of retort gathered in one view.
a vessel where substances are distilled or decomposed by heat
answer back
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for retort.
noun
a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one); "it brought a sharp rejoinder from the teacher"
See also: rejoinder, return, riposte, replication, comeback, counter
noun
a vessel where substances are distilled or decomposed by heat
verb
answer back
Example sentences
The author of that retort redefines "sour grapes".
It's reminiscent of the cold war retort from the soviets.
That is, unless your first retort had nothing at all to do with the OPs point about openness.
You can't make me.""Wow, that's certainly a retort which our legal system does not deal with several hundred thousand times a year.
His two-second retort, especially on call-in shows, is simple: "What's your salary?
With that kind of reasoning I could post in Russian and if you complain that you don't understand I would retort that you just need to translate my comments...
With the big-wig, personally, it would come down to how witty of a retort I could come up with, because really, f him. Otherwise, I'd just hold my tongue, which is the safest route, sexist or non-sexist insult alike.
The piece is specifically positioned as a retort to a somewhat sensationalist O'Reilly piece, and in that context it's perhaps decent.
NB If the answer to "why can't you write dbus interfaces" is "we'd love to, but the Gnome developers keep changing the interfaces every minor point release" then that's probably a valid retort...
That actually makes me more disinclined to use Moz-- this isn't a snap-retort by an overeager in-house lawyer looking to earn their fee, this is the COO claiming that "Doz" is a trademark violation because it ends on "oz".
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use retort in a sentence?
The author of that retort redefines "sour grapes".
What does retort mean?
a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one); "it brought a sharp rejoinder from the teacher"
What part of speech is retort?
retort is commonly used as noun, verb.