Synonyms
Examples of reply in a Sentence
Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
Harvard replied that the ballot had been updated and Hidalgo was placed on it.
—Noah Alcala Bach, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Apr. 2024
The board’s president replied that the Thursday vote was the first reading of an ordinance to change the name, and as such, officially only signaled the board’s intent to change the name.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024
And Drake, who’s not yet replied in song, has never been one to take the mature path.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
Now, experts and analysts worry that with generative AI, election deniers could mass-produce FOIA requests at an even greater rate, drowning the election workers legally obligated to reply to them in paperwork and gumming up the electoral process.
—Vittoria Elliott, WIRED, 10 Apr. 2024
Locke hasn’t confirmed the screenshots or replied to requests for comment, only confirming their company has parted ways with the production.
—James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Apr. 2024
When critics mentioned this, Park replied that the resemblance was accidental.
—Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Beyoncé is replying with other national myths: the U.S. as a cultural melting pot, a hotbed of innovation, a place whose future is more interesting than its past.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 2 Apr. 2024
Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 11 Apr. 2024
Chat Assist is in the Samsung Keyboard app and offers replies or can help rephrase a message to match certain tones.
—Iyaz Akhtar, PCMAG, 10 Apr. 2024
Realizing that clarification was in order, Amano trotted out a few online replies.
—Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 9 Apr. 2024
As of early Friday morning, Smith has deleted his replies.
—Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 5 Apr. 2024
Pixel fans and watchful Android experts asked the same question: what the heck, Google?
The Pixel 8 will get support for Gemini Nano in the next Pixel feature drop as a developer preview, powering on-device recorder summaries and smart replies in Gboard — same as the Pixel 8 Pro.
—Allison Johnson, The Verge, 28 Mar. 2024
The Bee reached out to the restaurant for comment on Friday morning and left a message with an employee, but had not received a reply as of midday Friday.
12 local restaurants cited for health violations
The following Sacramento County restaurants had violations the week of March.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 22 Mar. 2024
However, as TechCrunch explains, there are currently limits, such as the inability for Threads users to see replies and likes from other fediverse servers.
—Rachyl Jones, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2024
Fox News Digital also reached out to Hochul and California Gov. Gavin Newsom's offices but did not receive replies.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams' office directed Fox News Digital to the NYPD when asked if there's concern migrants could exploit local squatting laws.
—Emma Colton, Fox News, 4 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'reply.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Verb
Middle English replien "to fold back, oppose, repeat, respond verbally, deny, answer a legal charge," borrowed from Anglo-French replier, reploier "to bend back, respond, answer, make a replication," in part continuing continental Old & Middle French repleier, reploier "to refold (something) unfolded," replié "something folded back" (from re- re- + plier "to fold, bend"), in part going back to Latin replicāre "to turn back on itself, bend back, unroll (a papyrus book), go over (a thought, topic) repeatedly, make a replication" (Late Latin also "to restore, repeat, reply") — more at ply entry 3, replicate entry 1
Note: Note that continental Old and Middle French repleier and its variants (continued by modern French replier) refer only to literal folding and lack the metaphoric senses of Latin and Late Latin replicāre. This has led some references (Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Trésor de la langue française) to treat repleier as a new formation from re- and plier. The Anglo-French verb, however, continues extended senses of Latin replicāre, in particular the legal sense, and suggests that it is either a direct descendant of replicāre or was formed as its equivalent on the model of other verbs ending in -plier (compare etymologies of apply, imply). Anglo-French repliquer was borrowed directly from the Latin verb (with correspondents in Old and Middle French; compare Modern French répliquer) and was apparently not taken up by Middle English.
Noun
derivative of reply entry 1
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a
Noun
1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing reply
Dictionary Entries Near reply
Cite this Entry
“Reply.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reply. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
reply
1 of 2 verb
reply
2 of 2 noun
Legal Definition
reply
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on reply
Nglish: Translation of reply for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of reply for Arabic Speakers
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