1
as in insults
a quick witty response
she responded to the heckler with a scathing but hilarious retort that instantly won over the audience
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in responses
something spoken or written in reaction especially to a question
the salesclerk responded to my query about the price with a brusque retort
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in replies
to speak or write in reaction to a question or to another reaction
when told she couldn't have it, she retorted, "Fine, I didn't want it anyway!"
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of retorts
Amie Parnes, The Hill, 28 Aug. 2025
But businesses are hoping for more than just retorts.
—Satviki Sanjay Bloomberg, Arkansas Online, 9 Aug. 2025
His inquiries are met with gruff retorts by the barman, who is only interested in Henry buying a pint.
—Lincee Ray Published, EW.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Noun
Rank-and-file Democrats also have applauded Pritzker’s bullish retorts to Trump in recent days.
—Amie Parnes, The Hill, 28 Aug. 2025
But businesses are hoping for more than just retorts.
—Satviki Sanjay Bloomberg, Arkansas Online, 9 Aug. 2025
His inquiries are met with gruff retorts by the barman, who is only interested in Henry buying a pint.
—Lincee Ray Published, EW.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retorts
Noun
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Young Thug wasn’t the only target, however, as his girlfriend, Mariah The Scientist, also caught a few shots for entertaining Thugger’s insults over the phone.—
Jessica Bennett,
VIBE.com,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Egyptian influencers linked to intelligence fronts launched vicious personal attacks, including ethnic slurs, against the Saudi royal family and graphic insults targeting the crown prince.—
Khaled Hassan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Jeff is the author of Appalachian Fall (Simon & Schuster, 2020), which explored the decline of the coal industry and community-level responses to the energy transition.—
Jeff Young,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
-
That genetic material contains an enormous amount of information within it, telling your body what proteins and enzymes to produce, how to configure them together, and where and when to activate a variety of responses.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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One Scalepath member, a cleaning company, uses an AI workflow tool called Zapier to pipe Google reviews into ChatGPT, which drafts replies and posts them automatically.—
Brandon Kochkodin,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
-
My friend replies that unfortunately the subject is probably affiliated more closely with legal history now and therefore part of those courses, because the conventions of international law don’t seem to apply anymore.—
Sara Stridsberg
September 15,
Literary Hub,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The third walk-off loss in seven days resulted in a similar scene, with Scott buried in his locker and still searching for answers.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
-
That’s all there is to it for today’s Quordle clues and answers.—
Kris Holt,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Smartphones and instant uploads mean graphic events can spread before any newsroom responds.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
The crowd responds by trying to throw him off a cliff.—
John Fugelsang
September 12,
Literary Hub,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Actually, there are no Super Bowl wins at all without comebacks.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
18 Sep. 2025
-
After Hours Returns Among all of his comebacks, After Hours is the only full-length by The Weeknd to appear on just one list.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Retorts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retorts. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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