Adjacent Words

Respond definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RESPOND', v.i. [L. respondeo; re and spondeo, to promise, that is, to sent to. Hence respondeo is to send back.]
1. To answer; to reply.
A new affliction strings a new chord in the heart, which responds to some new note of complaint within the wide scale of human woe.
2. To correspond; to suit.
To every theme responds thy various lay.
3. To be answerable; to be liable to make payment; as, the defendant is held to respond in damages.
RESPOND', v.t. To answer; to satisfy by payment. The surety was held to respond the judgment of court. The goods attached shall be held to respond the judgment.
RESPOND', n.
1. A short anthem interrupting the middle of a chapter, which is not to proceed till the anthem is ended.
2. An answer. [Not in use.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: show a response or a reaction to something [syn: react, respond]
2: react verbally; "She didn't want to answer"; "answer the question"; "We answered that we would accept the invitation" [syn: answer, reply, respond]
3: respond favorably or as hoped; "The cancer responded to the aggressive therapy"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English respounde, literally, reply, from Anglo-French respuns, respunt response Date: 15th century an engaged pillar supporting an arch or closing a colonnade or arcade II. verb Etymology: alteration of Middle English respounden, from Anglo-French respundre, from Latin respond?re to promise in return, answer, from re- + spond?re to promise — more at spouse Date: 1572 intransitive verb 1. to say something in return ; make an answer <respond to criticism> 2. a. to react in response <responded to a call for help> b. to show favorable reaction <respond to surgery> 3. to be answerable <respond in damages> transitive verb reply • responder noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 intr. answer, give a reply. 2 intr. act or behave in an answering or corresponding manner. 3 intr. (usu. foll. by to) show sensitiveness to by behaviour or change (does not respond to kindness). 4 intr. (of a congregation) make answers to a priest etc. 5 intr. Bridge make a bid on the basis of a partner's preceding bid. 6 tr. say (something) in answer. --n. 1 Archit. a half-pillar or half-pier attached to a wall to support an arch, esp. at the end of an arcade. 2 Eccl. a responsory; a response to a versicle. Derivatives: respondence n. respondency n. responder n. Etymology: ME f. OF respondre answer ult. f. L respondere respons- answer (as RE-, spondere pledge)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Respond Re*spond" (r?*sp?nd"), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Responded; p. pr. & vb. n. Responding.] [OF. respondre, F. r['e]pondre, fr. L. respondere, responsum; pref. re- re- + spondere to promise. See Sponsor.] 1. To say somethin in return; to answer; to reply; as, to respond to a question or an argument. 2. To show some effect in return to a force; to act in response; to accord; to correspond; to suit. A new affliction strings a new cord in the heart, which responds to some new note of complaint within the wide scale of human woe. --Buckminster. To every theme responds thy various lay. --Broome. 3. To render satisfaction; to be answerable; as, the defendant is held to respond in damages. [U.S.] Syn: To answer; reply; rejoin. See Reply.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Respond Re*spond", v. t. 1. To answer; to reply. 2. To suit or accord with; to correspond to. [R.] For his great deeds respond his speeches great. --Fairfax.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Respond Re*spond", n. 1. An answer; a response. [R.] 2. (Eccl.) A short anthem sung at intervals during the reading of a chapter. 3. (Arch.) A half pier or pillar attached to a wall to support an arch. --Oxf. Gloss.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(responds, responding, responded) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. When you respond to something that is done or said, you react to it by doing or saying something yourself. They are likely to respond positively to the President's request for aid... The army responded with gunfire and tear gas... 'Are you well enough to carry on?—'Of course,' she responded scornfully... The Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs responded that the protection of refugees was a matter for an international organization... VERB: V to n, V with n, V with quote, V that 2. When you respond to a need, crisis, or challenge, you take the necessary or appropriate action. This modest group size allows our teachers to respond to the needs of each student. = react VERB: V to n 3. If a patient or their injury or illness is responding to treatment, the treatment is working and they are getting better. I'm pleased to say that he is now doing well and responding to treatment. VERB: V to n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. n. 1. Answer, reply, rejoin. 2. Correspond, suit, be agreeable to, accord.

Moby Thesaurus

acknowledge, act, advocate, allege in support, alternate, answer, answer back, antiphon, apprehend, argue for, assert, bandy, be affected, be aware of, be conscious of, be in tune, be inspired, be involved, be moved, be quits with, be sensible of, behave, care about, catch the flame, catch the infection, champion, change, change color, color with emotion, come back, come back at, come in, commute, compensate, contend for, cooperate, counter, counterchange, defend, dig, echo, empathize with, espouse, exchange, experience, feel, feel for, flash back, get back at, get even with, give acknowledgment, give and take, give answer, hear, identify with, interchange, logroll, maintain, make a plea, pay back, perceive, permute, pity, plead for, react, rebut, reciprocate, reecho, refute, rejoin, rejoinder, relate to emotionally, reply, requite, respond to, respond to stimuli, response, retaliate, retort, return, return answer, return for answer, return the compliment, reverberate, riposte, say, say in defense, say in reply, see, sense, share, shoot back, smell, snap back, speak for, speak up for, stand up for, stick up for, support, sustain, swap, switch, sympathize with, take the bait, talk back, taste, touch, trade, transpose, uphold, urge reasons for