Bible Dictionaries
Retort

Webster's Dictionary

(1):

(n.) To throw back; to reverberate; to reflect.

(2):

(n.) To bend or curve back; as, a retorted line.

(3):

(v. t.) A vessel in which substances are subjected to distillation or decomposition by heat. It is made of different forms and materials for different uses, as a bulb of glass with a curved beak to enter a receiver for general chemical operations, or a cylinder or semicylinder of cast iron for the manufacture of gas in gas works.

(4):

(n.) To return, as an argument, accusation, censure, or incivility; as, to retort the charge of vanity.

(5):

(v. i.) To return an argument or a charge; to make a severe reply.

(6):

(v. t.) The return of, or reply to, an argument, charge, censure, incivility, taunt, or witticism; a quick and witty or severe response.

Bibliography Information
Webster, Noah. Entry for 'Retort'. Noah Webster's American Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​web/​r/retort.html. 1828.