respondent

noun

re·spon·dent | \ ri-ˈspän-dənt

Definition of respondent

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : one who responds: such as

a : one who maintains a thesis in reply

b(1) : one who answers in various legal proceedings (as in equity cases)

(2) : the prevailing party in the lower court

c : a person who responds to a poll

2 : a reflex that occurs in response to a specific external stimulus — compare operant

respondent

adjective

Definition of respondent (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : making response : responsive especially : being a respondent at law

2 : relating to or being behavior or responses to a stimulus that are followed by a reward respondent conditioning — compare operant sense 3

Examples of respondent in a Sentence

Noun

A majority of respondents said they disagreed with the mayor's plan.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Thirty-five percent of survey respondents said that additional regulations would be more costly. — Andrew Duehren, WSJ, "Americans Show Growing Support for Climate-Change Policies, Poll Says," 17 Dec. 2018 Again, 36% to 48% of respondents rely heavily on those judgments. — Jason Zweig, WSJ, "Wall Street Has It Wrong. You’re a Smart Investor.," 22 Feb. 2019 Forty percent of respondents in the new poll agreed with the proposition that the state was on the wrong track. — Thomas Fitzgerald, Philly.com, "New Pa. poll finds positive signs for Gov. Wolf, Democratic U.S. House candidates," 28 Mar. 2018 Of those respondents, 48% said their main priority is to save more. — Blake Bakkila, Good Housekeeping, "The 52-Week Money Challenge Is an Easy Way to Save Almost $1,400 This Year," 9 Jan. 2019 Other parts of the report include respondents thoughts on everything from what feminism means to interviews with the first trans prom king Alan Belmont and fashion designer Harris Reed. — Alyssa Hardy, Teen Vogue, "Why Does Gender Neutral Clothing Translate to “Boys” Clothing?," 21 Dec. 2018 While respondents weren’t asked specifically about President Donald Trump, Evans said, unpredictability and uncertainty magnify stress. — Isaac Stanley-becker, The Seattle Times, "69 percent of Americans are stressed about the country’s future, says new survey," 30 Oct. 2018 When poll respondents were asked to choose between a Democratic candidate or Hogan, both Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III and former NAACP President Ben Jealous got the support of 31 percent. — Michael Dresser, baltimoresun.com, "Poll: Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is favored over Democratic candidates," 24 Apr. 2018 Penicook said the vast majority of the 800 respondents are in favor of both a dog park and allowing leashed dogs in all village parks. — Jesse Wright, chicagotribune.com, "No quick decision on whether to allow dogs in La Grange parks, board president says," 10 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Absent a robust and respondent welfare state, protests have become a routine — and occasionally effective — means of social negotiation between citizens, workers and public officials. — Chantal Berman, Washington Post, "Why do Tunisians keep protesting?," 19 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'respondent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.