retort means A sharp or witty reply, or one which turns an argument against its originator; a comeback. It carries an Arena rating of 1860, earned across 10 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, retort ranks #47 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #639 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #742 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #1,229 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words.
retort is pronounced /ɹɪˈtɔɹt/.
Why “retort” is a great word
A sharp, witty reply that turns an argument back on its originator. From Middle English retorte, from Latin retortus, the past participle of retorquēre ("to twist or turn back"), from re- ("back") and torquēre ("to twist"). Unlike a riposte—a precise, sporting thrust in verbal fencing—or a rejoin—a simple, conversational answer—a retort is a defensive torsion, flung back with heat. It is the sting of salted words across a dinner table, the coiled neck of a distillation flask breathing out its alchemical answer, the sudden torque of logic sprung as a trap on its own setter—a small, human defiance that transforms the force of a claim into its own rebuttal.
Etymology
From Middle English retorte, from Latin retortus, from retorquēre (“to be forced to twist back”).
noun
- A sharp or witty reply, or one which turns an argument against its originator; a comeback.e.g.“He countered her insult with a clever retort.”
- A flask with a rounded base and a long neck that is bent down and tapered, used to heat a liquid for distillation.e.g.“A large curved retort was boiling furiously in the bluish flame of a Bunsen burner, and the distilled drops were condensing into a two-litre measure.” — 1893, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Naval Treaty, Norton, page 670:
- An airtight vessel in which material is subjected to high temperatures in the chemical industry or as part of an industrial manufacturing process, especially during the smelting and forging of metal.
- A pressure cooker.e.g.“The retort is above boiling water. Beneath is a furnace. To the right a man is removing the chips from which the camphor has been extracted.” — March 1920, Alice Ballantine Kirjassoff, “FORMOSA THE BEAUTIFUL”, in National Geographic Magazine, page 268:
- A crematory furnace.
verb
- To say something sharp or witty in answer to a remark or accusation.e.g.““It is a pity,” he retorted with aggravating meekness, “that they do not use a little common sense. The case resembles that of Columbus' egg, and is every bit as simple.[…]”” — 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Ayrsham Mystery”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening
- To make a remark which reverses an argument upon its originator; to return, as an argument, accusation, censure, or incivility.e.g.“to retort the charge of vanity”
- To bend or curve back.e.g.“a retorted line”
- To throw back; to reverberate; to reflect.e.g.“As when his virtues, shining upon others, / Heat them and they retort that heat again / To the first giver.” — c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[w
- To heat in a retort.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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