rejoinder

noun

re·​join·​der ri-ˈjȯin-dər How to pronounce rejoinder (audio)
1
: the defendant's answer to the plaintiff's replication
2
: reply
specifically : an answer to a reply
Choose the Right Synonym for rejoinder

answer, response, reply, rejoinder, retort mean something spoken, written, or done in return.

answer implies the satisfying of a question, demand, call, or need.

had answers to all their questions

response may imply a quick or spontaneous reaction to a person or thing that serves as a stimulus.

a response to the call for recruits

reply often suggests a thorough response to all issues, points, or questions raised.

a point-by-point reply to the accusation

rejoinder can be a response to a reply or to an objection.

a salesman with a quick rejoinder to every argument

retort implies a reaction to an implicit or explicit charge, criticism, or attack which contains a countercharge or counterattack.

she made a cutting retort to her critics

Examples of rejoinder in a Sentence

The article was a stinging rejoinder to her critics. he always has a smart-aleck rejoinder to everything
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Johnson’s performance, meanwhile, was a sharp rejoinder to the media attention he’s received this week. Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 20 Nov. 2024 At first glance, recent history would seem to furnish an obvious rejoinder to such caution: the United States waged, and won, a nearly half-century-long global struggle against the Soviet Union. Ali Wyne, Foreign Affairs, 23 Nov. 2022 And on top of that, the movie felt like a cruel rejoinder to anyone who’d ever believed that the once-red-hot Shyamalan could right the ship. Will Leitch, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2024 When critics warn about Trump’s threat, the constant rejoinder is that democracy already survived four years of Trump in office. Zack Beauchamp, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018 See all Example Sentences for rejoinder 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English rejoiner, from Anglo-French rejoinder, from rejoinder, verb

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of rejoinder was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near rejoinder

Cite this Entry

“Rejoinder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rejoinder. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

rejoinder

noun
re·​join·​der ri-ˈjȯin-dər How to pronounce rejoinder (audio)
: reply entry 2
especially : an answer to a reply

Legal Definition

rejoinder

noun
re·​join·​der ri-ˈjȯin-dər How to pronounce rejoinder (audio)
: an answer to a reply
specifically : the defendant's answer to the plaintiff's reply or replication under common-law pleading
Etymology

Anglo-French, from rejoindre, rejoinder to make rejoinder, literally, to join again, meet, from Old French, from re- again + joindre to join

More from Merriam-Webster on rejoinder

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