repartee

[rep-er-tee, -tey, -ahr-]

noun

1. a quick, witty reply.

2. conversation full of such replies.

   Synonyms: fencing, banter

3. skill in making such replies.

repartee

/ ˌrɛpɑːˈtiː /

noun

1. a sharp, witty, or aphoristic remark made as a reply

2. terse rapid conversation consisting of such remarks

3. skill in making sharp witty replies or conversation

Word History and Origins

Origin of repartee¹

1635–45; < French repartie retort, noun use of feminine past participle of repartir, Middle French, equivalent to re- re- + partir to part

Word History and Origins

Origin of repartee¹

C17: from French repartie , from repartir to retort, from _re- + partir to go away

Example Sentences

Though this is their first film together, their repartee is so easy and warm it’s hard to believe they haven’t co-starred in at least a dozen movies.

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Some groan-inducing puns aside, Rushdie’s comic touches are deftly managed, appearing as sharp satirical swipes or witty repartee.

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Trinket vendors with whom Hemingway found a passing repartee still line the sides.

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My beef was that he sounded like an anxious playwright determined to string an audience along without forced exuberance and sitcom-level repartee.

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Ally and Jay are both sarcastic, too — their best lines are muttered under their breaths — and their repartee becomes more interesting than the bloody theatrics.

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Related Words

• banter 
• pleasantry 
• rejoinder 
• retort 
• sarcasm 
• wordplay