reply
[ri-plahy]
- to make answer in words or writing; answer; respond: to reply to a question.
- to respond by some action, performance, etc.: to reply to the enemy's fire.
- to return a sound; echo; resound.
- Law. to answer a defendant's plea.
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- to return as an answer (usually used in a negative combination or followed by a clause with that): Not a syllable did he reply. He replied that no one would go.
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- an answer or response in words or writing.
- a response made by some action, performance, etc.
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Origin of reply
1350–1400; Middle English replien (v.) < Middle French replier to fold back, reply < Latin replicāre to unroll, fold back; see replicate
Synonyms
See more synonyms for reply on Thesaurus.com1. rejoin. 6. rejoinder, riposte.
Synonym study
6. See answer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for replies
Contemporary Examples
King Lear becomes Lear texting “okay who wants a kingdom,” to which Goneril replies “me me I do.”
To be fair, these are replies to arguments put forth by the plaintiffs in the case.
“Like Gwyneth Paltrow,” Eliza replies, finally understanding the concept of inner beauty.
“Tell me before I forget,” Cianci replies, and when they do, he remembers a graduation, an uncle, a Little League tournament.
When I ask him what religious denomination he represents, he replies, “every.”
Historical Examples
All these answers, were in truth no replies at all, for they did not disprove the facts.
The Grand Old ManRichard B. Cook
"The Sorrows of Werter," replies my lady, as well as I could hear.
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
The Duc replies, "Why did you not say that some one was listening, that some one was hidden?"
My Double LifeSarah Bernhardt
My messages were soon sent, and then I sat down to wait for the replies.
The Long Labrador TrailDillon Wallace
"Thought I'd see you off," he replies to your expression of surprise at his early rising.
The ForestStewart Edward White
reply
- to make answer (to) in words or writing or by an action; respondhe replied with an unexpected move
- (tr; takes a clause as object) to say (something) in answerhe replied that he didn't want to come
- law to answer a defendant's plea
- to return (a sound); echo
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- an answer made in words or writing or through an action; response
- the answer made by a plaintiff or petitioner to a defendant's case
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French replier to fold again, reply, from Latin replicāre to fold back, from re- + plicāre to fold
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for replies
reply
v.
late 14c., "to make an answer," from Old French replier "to reply, turn back," from Late Latin replicare "to reply, repeat," in classical Latin "fold back, fold over, bend back," from re- "back, again" (see re-) + plicare "to fold" (see ply (v.1)). Latin literal sense of "to fold back" is attested from mid-15c. in English but is not now used. Modern French répliquer (Middle French replier) is directly from Late Latin. Related: Replied; replying.
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reply
n.
1550s, from reply (v.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper