repartee

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: rep=ar=tee

CIDE DICTIONARY

repartee, n. [F. repartie, fr. repartir to reply, depart again; pref. re- re- partir to part, depart. See Part.].

 A smart, ready, and witty reply.  [1913 Webster]
"Cupid was as bad as he;
Hear but the youngster's repartee."  [1913 Webster]

Syn. -- Retort; reply. See Retort.

repartee, v. i. 

 To make smart and witty replies.  Prior.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

repartee, n.
1 the practice or faculty of making witty retorts; sharpness or wit in quick reply.
2 a a witty retort. b witty retorts collectively.

Etymology

F repartie fem. past part. of repartir start again, reply promptly (as RE-, partir PART)

DEVIL 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.

THESAURUS

repartee

acknowledgment, answer, answering, antiphon, aphorism, apothegm, back answer, back talk, backchat, badinage, banter, bon mot, boutade, bright idea, bright thought, brilliant idea, comeback, conceit, crack, echo, epigram, evasive reply, facetiae, flash of wit, flight of wit, gibe, give and take, happy thought, humor, irony, mot, nasty crack, patter, persiflage, play of wit, pleasantry, quip, quips and cranks, raillery, reaction, ready reply, receipt, rejoinder, replication, reply, repost, rescript, rescription, respondence, response, responsion, responsory, retort, return, reverberation, riposte, sally, sarcasm, satire, scintillation, short answer, smart crack, smart saying, snappy comeback, stroke of wit, turn of thought, wisecrack, wit, witticism, witty reply, witty retort, wordplay, yes-and-no answer

ROGET THESAURUS

repartee

Wit

N wit, humor, wittiness, sense of humor, attic wit, attic salt, atticism, salt, esprit, point, fancy, whim, drollery, pleasantry, farce, buffoonery, fooling, tomfoolery, shenanigan, harlequinade, broad farce, broad humor, fun, espieglerie, vis comica, jocularity, jocosity, jocoseness, facetiousness, waggery, waggishness, whimsicality, comicality, banter, badinage, retort, repartee, smartness, ready wit, quid- pro-quo, ridicule, jest, joke, jape, jibe, facetiae, levity, quips and cranks, capital joke, canorae nugae, standing jest, standing joke, private joke, conceit, quip, quirk, crank, quiddity, concetto, plaisanterie, brilliant idea, merry thought, bright thought, happy thought, sally, flash of wit, flash of merriment, scintillation, mot, mot pour rire, witticism, smart saying, bon-mot, jeu d'esprit, epigram, jest book, dry joke, quodlibet, cream of the jest, word-play, jeu de mots, play of words, play upon words, pun, punning, double entente, double entendre, quibble, verbal quibble, conundrum, anagram, acrostic, double acrostic, trifling, idle conceit, turlupinade, old joke, tired joke, flat joke, Joe Miller, witty, attic, quick-witted, nimble-witted, smart, jocular, jocose, humorous, facetious, waggish, whimsical, kidding, joking, puckish, playful, merry and wise, pleasant, sprightly, light, spirituel, sparkling, epigrammatic, full of point, ben trovato, comic, zany, madcap, funny, amusing, jokingly, in joke, in jest, in sport, in play, adhibenda est in jocando moderatio, gentle dullness ever loves a joke, leave this keen encounter of our wits, just joking, just kidding, surely you jest!.

Answer

N answer, response, reply, replication, riposte, rejoinder, surrejoinder, rebutter, surrebutter, retort, repartee, rescript, rescription, antiphon, antiphony, acknowledgment, password, echo, counter statement, discovery, solution, rationale, clue, Oedipus, oracle, return, answering, responsive, respondent, conclusive, because, on the scent, on the right scent, Int, eureka!.