Meaning of Repartee | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A swift, witty reply, especially one that is amusing.
   countable, uncountable
2. A conversation marked by a series of witty retorts.
   countable, uncountable
3. A skill in replying swiftly and wittily.
   countable, uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“Many persons must laugh when a great person or an acknowledged wit says a clever thing, such as a smart repartee, or a really good pun.”

“Yet habit—strange thing! what cannot habit accomplish?—Gayer sallies, more merry mirth, better jokes, and brighter repartees, you never heard over your mahogany[…]”

“A slight smile broke on his lips. ¶ "You are always prepared to sacrifice your principles for a repartee," he answered.”

“The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again;[…]. Our table in the dining-room became again the abode of scintillating wit and caustic repartee, Farrar bracing up to his old standard, and the demand for seats in the vicinity rose to an animated competition.”

“Another millstone around the NDP’s neck was the relative lack of seasoned parliamentarians in the government front bench who were skilled enough at repartee to take on the Tory veterans across the floor.”

“In what country but England could the epigrammatic repartées and spiritual anecdotes of a Jekyll have flourished?”

“She was quite famous for her conversational powers and talents for repartée.”

“Some very sharp and cutting repartées passed after dinner, amongst others that of Admiral Tchitschagoff to General Ouvaroff, related in a preceding page.”

““No heart can resist her when she smiles and tries her repartée, even in this presence,” said Lady Lucie. “A power of repartée is a great thing, girl; it becomes a fine woman better than diamonds.[…]””

“Although she and Father were opposites in so many ways, when it came to repartée and telling stories, they were like a brilliantly matched tennis team.”

“There are the repartées, the verbal pirouettes of the servant gagsters.”

“A popular house of assignation was kept in Coventry Street by “Mother” Kate Hamilton, in her youth a much-sought-after courtesan; half the male clientele came there just to hob-nob with the obese patronne and exchange blue-violet repartée with her and the company.”

“Thomas Pettigrew offered the idea that the repartées are endurance tests that provide training for a lifetime of insult, while John Dollard suggested that the function of this form is to operate as a release mechanism for the anxieties of Black children.”

“But with Zan Charisse now playing Louise, the chatter worked, as the actress kept making repartée with her clothes on.”

CEFR level