respondent

[ ri-spon-duhnt ]

noun

1. a person who responds or makes reply.
2. Law. a defendant, especially in appellate and divorce proceedings.

adjective

1. giving a response; answering; responsive.
2. Law. being a respondent.
3. Psychology. of or relating to behavior that occurs consistently in response to a particular stimulus.
4. Obsolete. corresponding.

respondent

/ rɪˈspɒndənt /

noun

1. law a person against whom a petition, esp in a divorce suit, or appeal is brought

adjective

1. a less common word for responsive

Word History and Origins

Origin of respondent¹

1520–30; < Latin respondent- (stem of respondēns ), present participle of respondēre. See respond, -ent

Example Sentences

“She’s a Black woman. I’m a Black man, she gets my vote by default,” wrote one respondent who is detained in North Central Regional Jail in Greenwood, West Virginia.

From Slate

“I think it’s time we let a strong independent woman run the show, because every male so far hasn’t done anything in the last 30 years,” one white respondent in Arkansas wrote.

From Slate

“When it was Trump against Biden, I didn’t feel as though Biden was healthy or mentally capable of running a second term, so I would have voted for Trump,” wrote one Black respondent who is incarcerated in Kingman Correctional Facility in Arizona.

From Slate

“She is not Trump,” wrote one white respondent who is incarcerated in Alabama.

From Slate

“I believe that Kamala Harris is a candidate that understands the middle-and-low-class citizens and is working to give everyone a chance to have a better life and a way out of poverty,” wrote one respondent who is incarcerated in California and who would have previously voted for Trump.

From Slate

Related Words

• defendant
• prisoner