repartee

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments  · 
Even if a chance oath may float on the air from the stable-yard to the lodging of a French cook, 'tis of the newest fashion, and, if responded to with less of novel charm, the repartee is at least conveyed in the language of the most polite of nations.

View all »
Definitions (9)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun A swift, witty reply.
  2. noun Conversation marked by the exchange of witty retorts. See Synonyms at wit1.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (4)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • "Buscemi and Miller nail their roles well enough, but the dynamic between them is never quite as sensational as the screenplay seems to think; much of the repartee is awkward and airless and the exchanges meant to shock (things get personal very quickly) don't make much of an impact," writes —  GreenCine Daily
  • "His arm's just as good as a new wooden one, and his repartee is as sharp as the cutlas that broke the skin on it She smiled as she began on her grapefruit. —  The Pirate of Panama A Tale of the Fight for Buried Treasure
  • Even if a chance oath may float on the air from the stable-yard to the lodging of a French cook, 'tis of the newest fashion, and, if responded to with less of novel charm, the repartee is at least conveyed in the language of the most polite of nations. —  Tancred Or, The New Crusade
  • Now this time, as the repartee is about as rude a thing as any vulgar cad of an 'ARRY might have uttered, the professional Jester, who evidently does not owe his appointment to the Lord Chamberlain's favour, and is exempt from his jurisdiction, grins all over his countenance, and hops away to explain the jest to some of the courtiers, while Hamlet himself, to judge by his smiling countenance, is clearly very much pleased with his own performance in showing a Jester how the fool should be played. —  Punch, Or the London Charivari, Volume 102, April 16, 1892
  • As long as I remain in power you shall obtain nothing Well, Monseigneur," replied De Bernis, "I'll wait This repartee was an event; it was repeated and applauded everywhere until it reached the ears of royalty itself On Madame de Pompadour coming to power, the Princess de Rohan deigned to write to her in behalf of her dear abbé. —  International Miscellany of Literature, Art and Science, Vol. 1, No. 3, Oct. 1, 1850
 

Tags

repartee hasn't been tagged yet.

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 249 times.

On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Suggestions Wordniks Suggest

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

epigram ·  banter ·  retort ·  sally ·  quip ·  sarcasm ·  pleasantry ·  persiflage ·  satire ·  badinage ·  rejoinder ·  taunt
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French repartie, from feminine past participle of repartir, to retort, from Old French, to retort, to depart again : re-, re- + partir, to depart (from Latin partīre, to divide, from pars, part-, part; see perə-2 in Indo-European roots).

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Formerly also reparty (the spelling repartee being intended at the time (the 17th century) to exhibit the F. sound of the last syllable); from Old French repartie, an answering thrust, a reply, feminine of reparti, past participle of repartir, answer a thrust with a thrust, reply, divide again: see repart.
  2. from repartee, n.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »

/rɛpərˈti/
by American Heritage

Charts

frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word several times a year.

Recently looked up

shard · warmth · four-day · Paddock · implored

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

eu oi oìa u ou e u oìa · the octopi are dry · Kansas City · spell it rite · put it in your pocket