reciprocate
verb
Simple meaning
To give something else in response To make a reciprocal gift.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rihsihpruhkaytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɹɪˈsɪpɹəkeɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To exchange two things, with both parties giving one thing and taking another thing.
transitive
To give something else in response (where the "thing" may also be abstract, a feeling or action) To make a reciprocal gift.
intransitive
To counter, retort or retaliate.
intransitive
To move backwards and forwards, like a piston.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To give something else in response (where the "thing" may also be abstract, a feeling or action) To make a reciprocal gift.
Used this way, reciprocate is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use reciprocate
- “We always invite the neighbors and they never reciprocate!”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An internal-combustion engine in which the crankshaft is turned by pistons moving up and down in cylinders.
A portable power saw with a reciprocating blade.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- reciprocaladjective
- attractionnoun
- mutualadjective
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.