respondent
[ri-spon-duh nt]
- a person who responds or makes reply.
- Law. a defendant, especially in appellate and divorce proceedings.
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- giving a response; answering; responsive.
- Law. being a respondent.
- Psychology. of or relating to behavior that occurs consistently in response to a particular stimulus.
- Obsolete. corresponding.
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Origin of respondent
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for respondent
Contemporary Examples
But rarely does it cover the respondent in even short-term glory.
The most obvious: no matter how charismatic a respondent may be, he or she is not the president.
The more promising the respondent, the higher the expectations and the greater the potential for disappointment.
The younger the respondent, the lower the support for whaling.
I’ll Have the Whale, Please: Japan’s Unsustainable Whale HuntsJake Adelstein, Nathalie-Kyoko Stucky
February 5, 2013
A respondent from New Mexico said he or she owns a “.22 pistol to shoot rattlesnakes only in my yard.”
Historical Examples
The petitioner's name was Peter Quilliam; the respondent——, the co respondent——.
The ManxmanHall Caine
Respondent's visage questionable, however,—too dirty, and too happy.
Janet was the respondent, of course, Margaret listening in silence.
David ElginbrodGeorge MacDonald
We find that the respondent has not been guilty of misconduct with Hadi Bey.
In the WildernessRobert Hichens
We find that the respondent has not been guilty of misconduct with Aristide Dumeny.
In the WildernessRobert Hichens
respondent
- law a person against whom a petition, esp in a divorce suit, or appeal is brought
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- a less common word for responsive
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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 respondent
n.
1520s, "one who answers," from Latin respondentem (nominative respondens), present participle of respondere (see respond).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper