reply

[ ri-plahy ]

/ rɪˈplaɪ /

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See synonyms for: reply / replied / replies / replying on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), re·plied, re·ply·ing.

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.

verb (used with object), re·plied, re·ply·ing.

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.

noun, plural re·plies.

an answer or response in words or writing.

a response made by some action, performance, etc.

OTHER WORDS FOR reply

1 rejoin.

6 rejoinder, riposte.

See synonyms for reply on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of reply

1350–1400; Middle English replien (v.) <Middle French replier to fold back, reply <Latin replicāre to unroll, fold back; see replicate

synonym study for reply

6. See answer.

OTHER WORDS FROM reply

re·pli·er, nounun·re·plied, adjectiveun·re·ply·ing, adjective

Words nearby reply

replicase, replicate, replication, replicative, replicon, reply, reply card, repo, repoint, repo man, répondez s'il vous plaît

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use reply in a sentence

It mainly took the form of replies to their posts, part of a bid to reorient political conversation.
Pro-Trump youth group enlists teens in secretive campaign likened to a ‘troll farm,’ prompting rebuke by Facebook and Twitter|Isaac Stanley-Becker|September 15, 2020|Washington Post
When the woman responded she gave warm and friendly replies but appeared to politely deflect, delay or decline each invitation.
Alaska’s Attorney General on Unpaid Leave After Sending Hundreds of “Uncomfortable” Texts to a Young Colleague|by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News|August 25, 2020|ProPublica
Since the beginning of April through the end of July, the publisher posted 47% more Stories and saw a 66% increase in replies and a 52% increase in impressions on those Stories.
How a new order of commerce is increasingly coming to the rescue for publishers with advertising challenges|Kayleigh Barber|August 17, 2020|Digiday
Also, to boost the engagement rate of your post, make sure your reply to each and every comment.
What will make your brand stand out on LinkedIn in 2020?|Harikrishna Kundariya|August 12, 2020|Search Engine Watch

Kraft also alleged during budget meetings, Carson “starts talking quieter and quieter after she asks questions so she cannot hear his reply.”
Accusations Flew, Then National School District Official Got Paid to Resign|Ashly McGlone|July 20, 2020|Voice of San Diego
“Every critic encounters one book like that,” was his reply.
A Novel Nearly Impossible to Review|Nicholas Mancusi|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Johnson testified that he was the only one to reply, telling the cop that they were almost to where they were going.
90 Seconds of Fury in Ferguson Are the Key to Making Peace in America|Michael Daly|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He has received no reply from the government to the complaint he sent.
Corruption Eats Away at Ukraine Military|Charles McPhedran|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“I had not the most remote notion of what a wonderful man he was,” Darwin wrote of Aristotle in his reply to Ogle.
Why Aristotle Deserves A Posthumous Nobel|Nick Romeo|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They received a letter of reply saying their help was very welcome, and to come down and pay them a visit.
‘Pride’: The Feel-Good Movie of the Year, and the Film Rupert Murdoch Doesn’t Want You to See|Marlow Stern|October 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I waited three months more, in great impatience, then sent him back to the same post, to see if there might be a reply.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
Before Ripperda could unclasp his lips to reply, the stranger had opened the door, and passed through it like a gliding shadow.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
The aged woman made no reply; her eyes still studied Ramona's face, and she still held her hand.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
"Better so," was the Senora's sole reply; and she fell again into still deeper, more perplexed thought about the hidden treasure.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
"Marco's" reply conclusively proved his possession of a Christian spirit.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various

British Dictionary definitions for reply

/ (rɪˈplaɪ) /

verb -plies, -plying or -plied (mainly intr)

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

noun plural -plies

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

Derived forms of reply

replier, noun

Word Origin for reply

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