Respondent

How to spell respondent

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce respondent

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does respondent mean?

1. nounA person who answers a question, survey, or formal request for information.
2. nounThe party against whom a petition, appeal, or formal complaint is brought.

Respondent in a sentence

• Each respondent rated the new packaging on a scale of one to ten.

• The respondent filed a defence within the twenty-eight day limit.

• The typical respondent in the poll was aged between thirty and forty.

• Lawyers for the respondent argued that the appeal should be dismissed.

Where does respondent come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb respondere, meaning 'to answer' or 'to reply', formed from re- ('back, in return') and spondere ('to pledge or promise solemnly'). The literal sense was therefore to pledge something in return, which softened over time into the everyday idea of giving an answer. The present participle respondens supplied the form '-ent', marking the one who is answering. English took the word in around the early 1500s, initially in legal and ecclesiastical settings where one party formally answered the claims of another. The same spondere root sits behind 'sponsor' (one who makes a pledge) and 'spouse' (one who is promised in marriage), which is a useful reminder that the spelling keeps the 'spond' cluster rather than the 'sponce' sound it can suggest.

How the word is built

• re- (back, in return)
• spond (from Latin spondere: to pledge or promise)
• -ent (noun suffix: one who does)