retort

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈtɔɹt/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈtɔːt/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)t
• Hyphenation: re‧tort

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin retortus, from retorquēre (“to be forced to twist back”).

Noun

retort (plural retorts)

1. A sharp or witty reply, or one which turns an argument against its originator; a comeback.

Translations

sharp or witty reply

• Armenian: հակաճառություն (hy) (hakačaṙutʿyun)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 反駁 (zh), 反驳 (zh) (fǎnbó)

• Danish: replik c
• Dutch: scherp antwoord
• Finnish: sivallus
• French: réplique (fr) f, riposte (fr) f, repartie (fr) f
• German: schlagfertige Antwort f, Erwiderung (de) f, Retourkutsche (de) f
• Hungarian: visszavágás (hu), riposzt
• Ido: repliko (io)
• Irish: aisfhreagra m

• Italian: replica (it)
• Japanese: 口答え (kuchigotae)
• Latvian: asa atbilde f
• Maori: kupu paremata
• Occitan: replica f, repartida f, rebecada f, retornament m
• Polish: riposta (pl) f
• Portuguese: réplica (pt) f
• Russian: парирование (ru) n (parirovanije)
• Spanish: réplica (es) f
• Swedish: replik (sv), genmäle (sv)

Verb

retort (third-person singular simple present retorts, present participle retorting, simple past and past participle retorted)

1. To say something sharp or witty in answer to a remark or accusation.
   • 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 1, in The Ayrsham Mystery‎^[1]:

     “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. […]”

2. To make a remark which reverses an argument upon its originator; to return, as an argument, accusation, censure, or incivility.

   to retort the charge of vanity

   • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton

     And with retorted scorn his back he turned.

3. To bend or curve back.

   a retorted line

   • (Can we date this quote?) Southey

     With retorted head, pruned themselves as they floated.

4. To throw back; to reverberate; to reflect.
   • (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare

     As when his virtues, shining upon others, / Heat them and they retort that heat again / To the first giver.

Synonyms

• (sharp reply): comeback, rejoinder, back answer

Translations

To say something sharp or witty in answer to a remark or accusation

• Armenian: բոցել (hy) (bocʿel)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 反駁 (zh), 反驳 (zh) (fǎnbó), 回嘴 (zh) (huízuǐ)

• Finnish: sivaltaa
• French: rétorquer (fr), lancer (fr)
• Galician: retrucar

• Japanese: 口答えする (kuchigotae suru)
• Latvian: asi atbildēt, atcirst
• Polish: ripostować
• Russian: парировать (ru) (parirovatʹ), отбрить (ru) pf (otbritʹ)
• Swedish: replikera (sv), genmäla (sv)

to retort; to throw back — see return

Etymology 2

From French retorte.

Retort for distillation

Noun

retort (plural retorts)

1. (chemistry) A flask with a rounded base and a long neck that is bent down and tapered, used to heat a liquid for distillation.
   • 1893, Conan Doyle, Arthur, The Naval Treaty, Norton, page 670:

     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.

2. A 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.
3. A pressure cooker

Derived terms

• retort stand

Translations

flask used for distillation

• Armenian: թորանոթ (hy) (tʿoranotʿ), թորաման (hy) (tʿoraman)
• Catalan: retorta f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 曲頸甑 (zh), 曲颈甑 (zh) (qū jǐng zèng)

• Czech: křivule f
• Danish: retort (da) c, destillerkolbe c
• Dutch: retort (nl)
• Finnish: retortti (fi)
• French: cornue (fr)
• German: Retorte (de) f
• Greek: αποστακτήρας (el) m (apostaktíras)
• Ido: retorto (io)

• Italian: storta (it)
• Japanese: レトルト (retoruto)
• Latvian: retorte f
• Maori: puoto kakīroa, puoto whkaturuturu
• Polish: retorta (pl) f
• Portuguese: balão (pt) m
• Romanian: retortă (ro)
• Russian: рето́рта (ru) (retórta)
• Serbo-Croatian: retorta (sh)
• Spanish: retorta f
• Swedish: retort (sv)
• Ukrainian: реторта (retorta)

an airtight vessel

• German: Autoklav (de) m

Verb

retort (third-person singular simple present retorts, present participle retorting, simple past and past participle retorted)

1. (transitive) To heat in a retort.

Further reading

retort on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Rotter, rotter