reply
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To give a written or spoken response.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rihplySay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɹɪpˈlaɪ
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
transitiveintransitive
To give a written or spoken response, especially to a question, request, accusation or criticism; to answer.
intransitive
To act or gesture in response.
intransitive
To repeat something back; to echo.
noun
A written or spoken response; part of a conversation.
A counterattack.
Something given in reply.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To give a written or spoken response, especially to a question, request, accusation or criticism; to answer.
Used this way, reply is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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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.