reply

[ri-plahy]

See more synonyms for reply 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.

Origin of reply

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

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

Synonyms for reply

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1. rejoin. 6. rejoinder, riposte.

Synonym study

6. See answer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for reply

reaction, feedback, rejoinder, retort, response, acknowledgment, respond, acknowledge, counter, react, return, sass, retaliation, echo, reciprocation, lip, comeback, wisecrack, riposte, antiphon

Examples from the Web for reply

Contemporary Examples of reply

“Every critic encounters one book like that,” was his reply.
A Novel Nearly Impossible to Review
Nicholas Mancusi
December 28, 2014
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
He has received no reply from the government to the complaint he sent.
Corruption Eats Away at Ukraine Military
Charles McPhedran
October 21, 2014
“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
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

Historical Examples of reply

If it were not so, his hand would have written in reply to thy kind epistle.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
"Certainly, Robert," was the reply, but the lawyer's manner showed some surprise.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
"You'll find I'm right, sir," was the reply of the traveller who spoke first.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
Silence was painful to me, and reply only accumulated difficulty and vexation.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
This question was addressed to the lady, who drew back, and made no reply.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various

British Dictionary definitions for reply

reply

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 Formsreplier, 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

Word Origin and History for reply

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.

1550s, from reply (v.).