REPLYING

Verb

replying

present participle of reply

Source: Wiktionary


REPLY

Re*ply" (r-pl"), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Replied (-pld"); p. pr. & vb. n. Replying.] Etym: [OE. replien, OF. replier, F. répliquer, fr. L. replicare to fold back, make a reply; pref. re- re- + plicare to fold. See Ply, and cf. Replica.]

1. To make a return in words or writing; to respond; to answer. O man, who art thou that repliest against God Rom. ix. 20.

2. (Law)

Definition: To answer a defendant's plea.

3. Figuratively, to do something in return for something done; as, to reply to a signal; to reply to the fire of a battery.

Syn.

– To answer; respond; rejoin.

Re*ply", v. t.

Definition: To return for an answer. Milton. Lords, vouchsafe To give me hearing what I shall reply. Shak.

Re*ply", n.; pl. Replies (-pl. Etym: [See Reply, v. i., and cf. Replica.]

Definition: That which is said, written, or done in answer to what is said, written, or done by another; an answer; a response.

Syn.

– Answer; rejoinder; response.

– Reply, Rejoinder, Answer. A reply is a distinct response to a formal question or attack in speech or writing. A rejoinder is a second reply (a reply to a reply) in a protracted discussion or controversy. The word answer is used in two senses, namely (1), in the most general sense of a mere response; as, the answer to a question; or (2), in the sense of a decisive and satisfactory confutation of an adversary's argument, as when we speak of a triumphant answer to the speech or accusations of an opponent. Here the noun corresponds to a frequent use of the verb, as when we say. "This will answer (i.e., fully meet) the end in view;" "It answers the purpose."

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

2 July 2025

RESTITUTION

(noun) getting something back again; “upon the restitution of the book to its rightful owner the child was given a tongue lashing”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

An article published in Harvard Men’s Health Watch in 2012 shows heavy coffee drinkers live longer. The researchers examined data from 400,000 people and found out that men who drank six or more coffee cups per day had a 10% lower death rate.

coffee icon