| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| retort1 |
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| SYLLABICATION: | re·tort |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  r -tôrt |
| VERB: | Inflected forms: re·tort·ed, re·tort·ing, re·torts
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 1a. To reply, especially to answer in a quick, caustic, or witty manner. See synonyms at answer. b. To present a counterargument to. 2. To return in kind; pay back. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To make a reply, especially a quick, caustic, or witty one. 2. To present a counterargument. 3. To return like for like; retaliate. | | NOUN: | 1. A quick incisive reply, especially one that turns the first speaker's words to his or her own disadvantage. 2. The act or an instance of retorting. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Latin retorqu re, retort-, to bend back, retort : re-, re- + torqure, to bend, twist; see terkw- in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | re·torter —NOUN
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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