riposte

noun ri·poste \ ri-ˈpōst \

Definition of riposte

1 :a fencer's quick return thrust following a parry

2 :a retaliatory verbal sally :retort

3 :a retaliatory maneuver or measure

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riposte

verb

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riposte was our Word of the Day on 03/23/2013. Hear the podcast!

Examples of riposte in a Sentence

he's known for having a brilliant riposte to nearly any insult

Recent Examples of riposte from the Web

Yet Tillerson apparently doesn't see the need for a U.S. riposte.

— chicagotribune.com, "Time is up on Rex Tillerson," 24 Aug. 2017
Below are some of Churchill’s most Twitter-worthy ripostes — all within the platform’s 140-character limit and all characteristically clever, direct and humorous.

— richard m. langworth, National Review, "How Would Churchill Tweet?," 12 Aug. 2017
Harrying Corbyn on Venezuela is just a Con game — Kevin Maguire (@Kevin_Maguire) August 8, 2017 Meanwhile, the backlash against Corbyn has provoked its own ripostes.

— ishaan tharoor, Washington Post, "Does Jeremy Corbyn have a Venezuela problem?," 11 Aug. 2017
So Putin settled on a riposte that addressed the December diplomatic spat rather than the sanctions.

— owen matthews, Newsweek, "Lovers' Quarrel: Trump, Putin and the World's Most Dangerous Codependent Relationship," 10 Aug. 2017
Trump’s words were no doubt perceived by Kim as a warning of a likely preemptive attack on North Korea, which led to his dangerous riposte on Guam.

— trudy rubin, Philly.com, "Trump team was making progress on N. Korea - until his 'fire and fury' blast," 9 Aug. 2017
The riposte came from Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister.

— heba farouk mahfouz, Washington Post, "In Trump’s speech to Muslim world, some see a businessman’s focus on the bottom line," 21 May 2017
Sui’s free-spirited clothes still serve as a riposte to anyone who claims American fashion is fixated on cold, clean minimalism.

— alexander fury, New York Times, "The Technicolor World of Anna Sui," 11 May 2017
Merz is the least known and, perhaps not incidentally, the only female member of Arte Povera, a movement shepherded into existence, in 1967, as Italy’s ambitious riposte to American Pop and minimalism.

— The New Yorker, "Marisa Merz: The Sky Is a Great Space," 31 Mar. 2017

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

Did You Know?

In the sport of fencing, a riposte is a counterattack made after successfully fending off one's opponent. English speakers borrowed the name for this particular maneuver from French in the early 1700s, but the French had simply modified Italian risposta, which literally means "answer." Ultimately these words come from the Latin verb respondēre meaning "to respond." It seems fitting that "riposte" has since come full circle to now refer to a quick and witty response performed as a form of retaliation.