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

Nearly 500 Olympic volunteers withdrew, and one poll found fewer than 7 percent of respondents thought Mori was qualified to continue in his role.

From Washington Post

Many respondents were spooked by the idea of allowing others access to their brain’s inner workings.

From Science News For Students

The idea of allowing companies, or governments, or even health care workers access to the brain’s inner workings spooked many respondents.

From Science News

In this experiment, people were not particularly uncomfortable asking sensitive questions, and the respondents’ comfort levels were fairly similar across the three conditions.

From Freakonomics

Eighty-four percent of respondents said they were satisfied.

From Washington Post

The judge did rule that one respondent crossed the line by implying that Im Tirtzu espouses Nazi race theory.

From The Daily Beast

But rarely does it cover the respondent in even short-term glory.

From The Daily Beast

The most obvious: no matter how charismatic a respondent may be, he or she is not the president.

From The Daily Beast

The more promising the respondent, the higher the expectations and the greater the potential for disappointment.

From The Daily Beast

The younger the respondent, the lower the support for whaling.

From The Daily Beast

It really raises the question whether a man who has wrongly been named as co-respondent is in honour bound to marry the defendant.

From Project Gutenberg

See also the allusion in Sophistês (to the appearance of the younger Sokrates as respondent), p. 218 B.

From Project Gutenberg

He depends upon the acquiescence of the respondent for every step taken in advance.

From Project Gutenberg

That the term defendant is, when alone, synonymous with respondent.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. Evans and Mr. Palmer were for the appellants, and Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Bulwer for the respondent.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• defendant
• prisoner