Definition of: response

(ri·spons′) noun
1. The act of responding, or that which is responded; words or acts evoked by the words or acts of another or others; an answer; reply.
2. Eccl. A portion of a liturgy or church service said or sung by the congregation or choir in reply to the officiating priest; also, an anthem sung or said during or after a reading.
3. Biol. The action of an organism or a part, or the cessation of action, resulting from a stimulus or influence; a reaction. [<OF <L responsum, neut. of pp. of respondere. See RESPOND.] Synonyms: answer, rejoinder, repartee, reply, retort. A rejoinder is strictly an answer to a reply, while often used in the general sense of answer, but always with the implication of something more or less controversial or opposed, yet lacking the conclusiveness implied in answer. A response is accordant or harmonious, designed or adapted to carry on the thought of the words that called it forth, or to meet the wish of him who seeks it; as, The appeal for aid met a prompt and hearty response. Repartee is a prompt, witty, and commonly good–natured answer to some argument or attack; a retort may also be witty, but is severe and may be even savage in its intensity. See ANSWER.