respondent
Americannoun
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a person who responds or makes reply.
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Law. a defendant, especially in appellate and divorce proceedings.
adjective
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giving a response; answering; responsive.
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Law. being a respondent.
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Psychology. of or relating to behavior that occurs consistently in response to a particular stimulus.
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Obsolete. corresponding.
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of respondent
1520–30; < Latin respondent- (stem of respondēns ), present participle of respondēre. See respond, -ent
Explanation
A respondent is a person who gives an answer. For example, on some Monday mornings, your teacher might feel like she is talking to the walls — although she asks questions, none of the sleepy students are willing respondents. A respondent is a person who answers a question, letter, email message, survey, or anything else that requires a response. You can see the word respond, which means "answer or reply to" in respondent. If a poll reveals that bullying is the top concern regarding school safety, you know that many respondents checked the box marked "bullying."
Vocabulary lists containing respondent
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It found nearly every respondent had used AI at some point, with personal use more common than for educational purposes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
“It was probably the ugliest environment that I’ve been in,” said one respondent.
From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026
“There was more respondent commentary in January on tariff impacts and uncertainty, potentially the result of annual contract renewals and geopolitical tensions,” said Steve Miller, chair of the ISM.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
It added he "is neither a party, defendant or respondent" in the injunction proceedings relating to Queensland Place.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2026
It is the trick of putting more than one question as one, so that a simple Yes commits the respondent to something implied.
From Logic, Inductive and Deductive by Minto, William
About 80% of respondents said hotel bookings were below initial expectations, and more than 65% of L.A. respondents said bookings were lower than a typical summer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Some 12% of Germans aged 18 to 29 had never heard of the Holocaust compared with 5% of respondents across all age groups, according to a 2025 study by the Claims Conference.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
And while the 2020 exit polls did not ask about income, the income data from the 2026 poll paints a related picture: A majority of respondents who support Collins make under $100,000 a year.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2026
In this survey, only 27% of respondents overall had a will, and 21% had a trust.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
There is no reason to believe that the survey results would have been any different if police officers or prosecutors—rather than the general public—had been the respondents.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
