Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Definition: RETORT |
RETORTIntransitive verb1. To return an argument or a charge; to make a severe reply. Noun1. To return, as an argument, accusation, censure, or incivility; as, to retort the charge of vanity. 2. To throw back; to reverberate; to reflect. 3. To bend or curve back; as, a retorted line. Transitive verb1. A vessel in which substances are subjected to distillation or decomposition by heat. It is made of different forms and materials for different uses, as a bulb of glass with a curved beak to enter a receiver for general chemical operations, or a cylinder or semicylinder of cast iron for the manufacture of gas in gas works. 2. The return of, or reply to, an argument, charge, censure, incivility, taunt, or witticism; a quick and witty or severe response. |
Date "RETORT" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1350. (references) |
Note: Retort \Re*tort"\, noun. [See Retort, transitive verb]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Chemistry | A vessel in which substances are distilled or decomposed by heat. Source: European Union. (references) |
Metallurgy | Enclosed space in which coal is placed, or through which it descends, for carbonizing (the quantity of coal is generally smaller than that carbonized in an oven). Source: European Union. (references) |
Mining | A. A vessel used for the distillation of volatile materials, as in the separation of some metals and the destructive distillation of coal b. A long semicylinder, now usually of fireclay or silica, for the manufacture of coal gas. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Answer | Verb: answer, respond, reply, rebut, retort, rejoin; give for answer, return for answer; acknowledge, echo. |
Noun: answer, response, reply, replication, riposte, rejoinder, surrejoinder, rebutter, surrebutter, retort, repartee; rescript, rescription; antiphon, antiphony; acknowledgment; password; echo; counter statement. | |
Confutation | Noun: {ant } confutation, refutation; answer, complete answer; disproof, conviction, redargution, invalidation; exposure, exposition; clincher; retort; reductio ad absurdum; knock down argument, tu quoque argument; sockdolager. |
Continuance in action | Crucible, alembic, caldron, retort. |
Furnace | Noun: furnace, stove, kiln, oven; cracker; hearth, focus, combustion chamber; athanor, hypocaust, reverberatory; volcano; forge, fiery furnace; limekiln; Dutch oven; tuyere, brasier, salamander, heater, warming pan; boiler, caldron, seething caldron, pot; urn, kettle; chafing-dish; retort, crucible, alembic, still; waffle irons; muffle furnace, induction furnace; electric heater, electric furnace, electric resistance heat. |
Receptacle | Cistern; (store); vat, caldron, barrel, cask, drum, puncheon, keg, rundlet, tun, butt, cag, firkin, kilderkin, carboy, amphora, bottle, jar, decanter, ewer, cruse, caraffe, crock, kit, canteen, flagon; demijohn; flask, flasket; stoup, noggin, vial, phial, cruet, caster; urn, epergne, salver, patella, tazza, patera; pig gin, big gin; tyg, nipperkin, pocket pistol; tub, bucket, pail, skeel, pot, tankard, jug, pitcher, mug, pipkin; galipot, gallipot; matrass, receiver, retort, alembic, bolthead, capsule, can, kettle; bowl, basin, jorum, punch bowl, cup, goblet, chalice, tumbler, glass, rummer, horn, saucepan, skillet, posnet, tureen. |
Retaliation | Verb: retaliate, retort, turn upon; pay, pay off, pay back; pay in one's own coin, pay in the same coin; cap; reciprocate; turn the tables upon, return the compliment; give a quid pro quo; Noun: give as much as one takes, give as good as one gets; give and take, exchange fisticuffs; be quits, be even with; pay off old scores. |
Give and take, blow for blow, quid pro quo, a Roland for an Oliver, measure for measure, diamond cut diamond, the biter bit, a game at which two can play; reproof valiant, retort courteous. | |
Noun: retaliation, reprisal, retort, payback; counter-stroke, counter-blast, counterplot, counter-project; retribution, lex talionis; reciprocation; (reciprocity). | |
Vaporization | Vaporizer, still, retort; fumigation, steaming; bay salt, chloride of sodium. |
Wit | Retort; banter; (ridicule); ridentem dicere verum; joke at one's expense. |
Banter, badinage, retort, repartee, smartness, ready wit, quid-pro-quo; ridicule. | |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Oh, wow, that was a moderately clever retort. (Alias; writing credit: Robert Soulé; Henri de Turenne) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
References | |
Books | |
Periodicals |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
![]() | Det[roit] City Gas Co., [foundation for retort house]. Credit: Library of Congress. | ![]() | Foundation for retort house, construction for Detroit City Gas Company. Credit: Library of Congress. |
![]() | Crematory, Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York. Retort. Credit: Library of Congress. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | The effectiveness of the treatment in eliminating pathogens will be regulated as a food safety process, by either the USDA or the FDA, often in concert with State authorities, just as is the case now for milk pasteurization or retort canning. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | REPARTEE, n. Prudent insult in retort. Practiced by gentlemen with a constitutional aversion to violence, but a strong disposition to offend. In a war of words, the tactics of the North American Indian. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "RETORT" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 76.44% of the time. "RETORT" is used about 174 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 76.44% | 133 | 27,614 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 18.97% | 33 | 60,273 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 4.02% | 7 | 133,076 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.57% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 174 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "RETORT" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Retort | Last name | 130 | 60,825 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
Expressions using "RETORT": Gas retort ♦ happy retort ♦ intermittent retort setting ♦ retort carbon ♦ retort courteous ♦ retort that ♦ sharp retort ♦ Tubulated retort. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
retort | 35 |
drudge retort | 35 |
pouch retort | 9 |
retort stand | 4 |
retort packaging | 3 |
charcoal retort | 3 |
retort rotary | 3 |
food retort | 3 |
mercury retort | 2 |
process retort | 2 |
cremation retort | 2 |
furnace retort | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "RETORT"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | përgjigje (answer, comeback, rejoinder, replication, reply, respond, response, return), përgënjeshtroj (confute, disprove, knock out, refute), kundërshtoj (censure, challenge, combat, condemn, contest, contradict, controvert, counter, cross, demur, deprecate, discountenance, discourage, dispute, flout, fly in the face of, gainsay, impugn, kick, mind, object, oppose, oppugn, protest, react, rebel, rebuke, rebut, recalcitrate, refuse, resist, set one's face against, stick to, stickle, Stonewall, take exception to), kundërshtim (censure, challenge, contradiction, contrast, demur, demurrer, deprecation, dispraise, exception, kick, objection, obtestation, opposition, protest, reaction, rebellion, rebuff, rebuttal, recalcitrance, return, set down, Stonewall, stonewalling), ia kthej (reciprocate, repay). (various references) | |
Arabic | فرن التقطير, مقطرة معوجة, رد حاسم, رد بمثله, رد بحسم (clench, return), رد بحجة معاكسة. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | реторта (cucurbit), репресивна мярка (reprisal, retaliation, retortion), остроумен отговор (repartee), отговарям (accord, account, answer, correspond, fit, fulfill, match, rejoin, replicate, reply, respond, vouch), отвръщам дръзко (answer back, sass, talk back), отмъщение (nemesis, retaliation, revenge, turnabout, vengeance, vindication), отплащам със същото (retaliate), отплата (meed, nemesis, payoff, quittance, recompense, remuneration, repayment, requital, retaliation, return, reward, wage), дързък отговор (backchat, sass), дестилирам (distil, distillate, still). (various references) | |
Chinese | 反駁 , 反击 (Retorted). (various references) | |
Czech | oplatit stejným (retaliate), odveta (backlash, reprisal, retaliation, retortion, retribution, return, revenge, vengeance), odseknutí (quip, set down), odseknout (chop off, cut away, hack off, sever), odpovìï (answer, come back, rejoinder, reply, response). (various references) | |
Danish | retort (flask), kolbe (bulb, envelope, flask, shell, spadix, tank, tube), glaskolbe (bulb, envelope, flask, lamp). (various references) | |
Dutch | retort (converter), kolf (ear). (various references) | |
Farsi | پس دادن (Excrete, Giveback, Refund, Repay, Restore), تلافی (Amends, Greet, Incidence, Repay, Reprisal, Restitution, Retribution), جواب متقابل دادن (Rebut), جواب متقابل , برگرداندن (Convert, Evoke, Rebut, Reflect, Refract, Regurgitate, Repay, Return, Reverse, Turquoise, Upset, Vomit). (various references) | |
Finnish | vastaus (answer, rejoinder, reply), letkaus (a dig, gibe). (various references) | |
French | cornue. (various references) | |
German | Retorte, Kolben (beak, bulb, butt, cob, conk, ear, flask, forcer, hooter, piston, pistons, prick, spadices, spadix, tool), erwidern (answer, pay back, reciprocate, rejoin, repay, reply, respond, return, to reply). (various references) | |
Greek | ανταπαντώ (come back, rejoin, reply). (various references) | |
Hebrew | ל"שיב כ"לכ", ל"'יב (answer, react, reply, respond), תשוב" כ"לכ" (riposte), תשוב" (answer, rejoinder, reply, response, return), ת'וב" (reaction, reflex, reply, response, retaliation), "'ב" (reaction, response). (various references) | |
Hungarian | visszavágás (click of the tongue, come-back, recrimination, repartee, riposte, sally of wit), találó felelet (neat retort), retorta, lombik (alembic, flask). (various references) | |
Indonesian | tabung kimia (test tube), jawaban (answer, reply, response). (various references) | |
Italian | storta (sprain, twist). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | レスキュー隊 (label, ladies, ladies first, lady, Lady Borden, laisser-faire, lead, led, leg warmers, lesbian, lesser panda, lesson, letter, letter facsimile, letterhead, lettering, lettuce, medical practitioners' receipt for health insurance claim, medical prescription, ready-made, reception, red, red purge, red tape, Redmond, rescue squad, resolution, resonance, respirator, response, rest, rest house, rest room, restaurant, restaurant hotel, restaurant theater, retouch, rhetoric, sticker, tow truck, wrestling), 反問 (asking in return, cross-examination), 口"" (talking back), 口"え (back talk), 口"え (back talk). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | レトルト , くち"たえ (back talk), くちへ"とう (talking back), は"も" (agony, asking in return, cross-examination, speckles, worry). (various references) | |
Korean | 르트. (various references) | |
Manx | freggyrt (acknowledgement, answer, come back; outcrop, correspond, react, reaction, rejoin, rejoinder, reply, respond, response, solution, suit), frangane. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | etortray.(various references) | |
Portuguese | retorta. (various references) | |
Romanian | ripostã (rejoinder, repartee, retortion, riposte), retortã, retorsiune (retaliation), represalie (reprisal), replicã (catchword, counterpart, cue, imitation, rejoinder, remark, repartee, replication, reply, respond, response, retortion, tag), rãspuns (acknowledgement, acknowledgment, answer, reaction, repartee, replication, reply, respond, respondence, response, script, solution), rãspunde (account, answer, come back, make answer, rejoin, reply, respond), distila (distil, extract, still), întoarce (crank, geld, put about, repay, retaliate, reverse, revert, set, shift, spade, turn). (various references) | |
Russian | реторта (converter, cucurbit). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | retorta (crucible, matrass), uzvratiti (answer, replicate, reply, respond, return, turn around), odgovor (answer, rejoinder, replication, reply, response, return), brzo odgovoriti. (various references) | |
Spanish | retorta (flask), replicar (answer, answer back, come back, riposte, talk back). (various references) | |
Swedish | replikera (rejoin, return), replik (answer, lines, rejoinder, repetition, reply), genmäla (object, plead, rejoin, reply). (various references) | |
Turkish | sert cevap vermek, sert cevap (rejoinder, sharp answer), imbik (alembic, distiller, distillery, flask, still), cevabı yapıştırmak (answer back, field, give a sharp reply, make a point, rejoin, riposte), aynen karşılık vermek, anında yapıştırılan cevap. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | реторта (boiler, cucurbit), відповідати різко й дотепно, відповідати тим же, відплата (atonement, comeback, comeuppance, nemesis, oblation, quits, requital, retaliation, retribution, reward, wages, wrack), заперечення (answer, but, demur, denegation, denial, deprecation, disavowal, disclaimer, exception, impugnment, nay-say, negative, no, objection, opposition, plea, protest, rejoinder, repudiation), переганяти в реторті. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | sự vặn lại, sự trả miếng (retaliation), sự trả đũa (reprisal, retaliation), sự câi lại, sự bắt bẻ lại, sự đập lại, sự đối đáp lại lời vặn lại, lời câi lại, lời đập lại, lời đối đáp lại (riposte). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "RETORT": retorted, retorter, retorters, retorting, retorts. (additional references) | |
| |
"RETORT" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: erott, raetor, recort, Redort, refort, reshot, restorat, retart, retat, retore, retorte, retout, revort, rhetor, ritort, rituro, rotart, terott. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "RETORT" (pronounced rē"tô'rt) |
| 3 | -ô' r t | airport, carport, Davenport, passport, purport, reexport, seaport, spaceport. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: rotter. | |
| Words within the letters "e-o-r-r-t-t" | |
-1 letter: otter, retro, rotte, torte, toter. | |
-2 letters: rote, tore, torr, tort, tote, tret, trot. | |
-3 letters: err, ore, ort, ret, roe, rot, tet, toe, tor, tot. | |
-4 letters: er, et, oe, or, re, to. | |
| Words containing the letters "e-o-r-r-t-t" | |
+1 letter: retorts, rotters, stertor, torrent, torture, trotter. | |
+2 letters: extorter, frotteur, garotter, garrotte, grottier, overtart, potterer, remittor, retorted, retorter, retroact, retrofit, rostrate, rottener, stertors, torrents, tortured, torturer, tortures, totterer, trotters, troutier. | |
+3 letters: detractor, distorter, extorters, extractor, extrovert, forgetter, formatter, frotteurs, garotters, garrotted, garrottes, introvert, literator, miterwort, mitrewort, overtreat, potterers, prostrate, protector, protester, protestor, rectorate, remittors, retorters, retorting, retractor, retroacts, retrodict, retrofits, rotameter, rotatores, territory, terrorist, throatier, throttler, throwster, tolerator, tormenter, tormentor, torridest, tortrixes, torturers, totterers, trattorie, trisector. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Quotations: Non-fiction 8. Usage Frequency | 9. Names: Frequency 10. Expressions 11. Expressions: Internet 12. Translations: Modern | 13. Derivations 14. Rhymes 15. Anagrams 16. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.