rejoinder

noun

re·​join·​der ri-ˈjȯin-dər 

1

: the defendant's answer to the plaintiff's replication

2

: reply

specifically : an answer to a reply

Synonyms

• answer
• comeback
• replication
• reply
• response
• retort
• return

Choose the Right Synonym for rejoinder

answer, response, reply, rejoinder, retort mean something spoken, written, or done in return.

answer implies the satisfying of a question, demand, call, or need.

had answers to all their questions

response may imply a quick or spontaneous reaction to a person or thing that serves as a stimulus.

a response to the call for recruits

reply often suggests a thorough response to all issues, points, or questions raised.

a point-by-point reply to the accusation

rejoinder can be a response to a reply or to an objection.

a salesman with a quick rejoinder to every argument

retort implies a reaction to an implicit or explicit charge, criticism, or attack which contains a countercharge or counterattack.

she made a cutting retort to her critics

Examples of rejoinder in a Sentence

The article was a stinging rejoinder to her critics.

he always has a smart-aleck rejoinder to everything

Recent Examples on the Web

And on top of that, the movie felt like a cruel rejoinder to anyone who’d ever believed that the once-red-hot Shyamalan could right the ship. —Will Leitch, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2024

When critics warn about Trump’s threat, the constant rejoinder is that democracy already survived four years of Trump in office. —Zack Beauchamp, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018

This pushback and occasional calling to task not only makes for compelling reading, but serves as an apt rejoinder to those who would collapse their differences into some kind of monolithic Octoberite orthodoxy. —Gordon Hughes, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2024

Meanwhile, Walz took furious notes and had pointed rejoinders ready. —Philip Elliott, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English rejoiner, from Anglo-French rejoinder, from rejoinder, verb

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

rejoinder

noun

re·​join·​der ri-ˈjȯin-dər 

: reply entry 2

especially : an answer to a reply

Legal Definition

rejoinder

noun

re·​join·​der ri-ˈjȯin-dər 

: an answer to a reply

specifically : the defendant's answer to the plaintiff's reply or replication under common-law pleading

Etymology

Anglo-French, from rejoindre, rejoinder to make rejoinder, literally, to join again, meet, from Old French, from re- again + joindre to join