rejoinder means the defendant's answer to the replication. It carries an Arena rating of 1541, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, rejoinder ranks #1,700 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #2,370 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,985 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #4,374 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say.
rejoinder is pronounced /ɹɪˈd͡ʒɔɪndɚ/.
Why “rejoinder” is a great word
A sharp or witty reply, especially one made in answer to a previous reply. From Middle English, from Middle French rejoindre ('to answer a legal charge'), with the infinitive used as a noun, from re- ('again') + joindre ('to join'), first attested in the mid-15th century in a legal context. Unlike a neutral 'reply' or a systematic 'rebuttal,' a rejoinder is the deft parry in a duel of wits, the flicked coin of a retort, the raised eyebrow given linguistic form. It is the barrister's swift counter in a hushed courtroom, the lover's precise quip in a candlelit quarrel, the comedian's perfect timing after a heckler's call—proof that the last word is a territory forever in dispute.
Etymology
From Middle English rejoinder, rejonder, rejoynder, from Middle French rejoindre, with infinitive used as noun frequent in Law French. Doublet of rejoin.
noun
- The defendant's answer to the replication.
- A response that answers another response.e.g.“"76. ... P-R8(N) mate! Certainly not 76... P-R8(Q), though threatening mate on the move in seven different ways--as 77 Q-N5 mate would have been the painful rejoinder."” — 1953 March, Irving Chernev, “Chernev's Chess Corner”, in Chess Review:
- A quick response that involves disagreement or is witty, especially an answer to a question.
- Re-insertion, typically after allowance of a patent application, of patent claims that had been withdrawn from examination under a restriction requirement.
verb
- To issue a rejoinder.
- To say as a rejoinder.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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