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| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | retaliate |
| Synonyms: | chasten, chastise, come back at, even the score, get back at, get even, payback, punish, redress, repay, requite, retribute, revenge, stick it to, take satisfaction, take vengeance, venge, vindicate |
| Main Entry: | rebut |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | argue against; prove wrong |
| Synonyms: | break, come back at, confound, confute, controvert, cross, defeat, deny, disconfirm, disprove, evert, fend off, get back at, hold off, invalidate, keep off, negate, negative, overturn, prove false, quash, refute, repel, repulse, stave off, take on, top, ward off |
| Notes: | to rebut a statement is to offer clear evidence or a reasoned argument against it; to refute a statement is to prove it wrong (neither means 'contradict' or 'deny') |
| Antonyms: | agree, approve, back down, concede |
| Main Entry: | respond |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | act in answer to something |
| Synonyms: | acknowledge, act in response, answer, answer back, be in touch with, behave, come back, come back at, come in, counter, feedback, feel for, field the question, get back to, get in touch, react, reciprocate, rejoin, reply, retort, return, talk back |
| Notes: | respond suggests a quick reaction while reply implies a return commensurate with the original demand or question |
| Antonyms: | ask, question, request |
| Main Entry: | retort |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | answer |
| Synonyms: | answer back, come back at, counter, crack*, rebut, rejoin, repay, reply, requite, respond, retaliate, return, riposte, sass, shoot back, snap back, squelch, talk back, top* |
| Notes: | rejoin implies a sharp answer, but retort suggests the addition of criticism or an explicit charge |
| Antonyms: | question, request |
* = informal/non-formal usage
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
