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Argue vs Retort - What's the difference?

argue | retort |

As verbs the difference between argue and retort

is that argue is to prove while retort is to say something sharp or witty in answer to a remark or accusation.

As a noun retort is

a sharp or witty reply, or one which turns an argument against its originator; a comeback.

argue

English

Verb

(argu)
  • (obsolete) To prove.
  • To shows grounds for concluding ((that)); to indicate, imply.
  • * 1910 , , "The Soul of Laploshka", Reginald in Russia :
  • To have killed Laploshka was one thing; to have kept his beloved money would have argued a callousness of feeling of which I was not capable.
  • To debate, disagree or discuss opposing or differing viewpoints.
  • He also argued for stronger methods to be used against China.
    He argued as follows: America should stop Lend-Lease convoying, because it needs to fortify its own Army with the supplies.
    The two boys argued because of disagreement about the science project.
  • To have an argument, a quarrel.
  • To present (a viewpoint or an argument therefor).
  • He argued his point.
    He argued that America should stop Lend-Lease convoying because it needed to fortify its own Army with the supplies.

    Derived terms

    * argie-bargie * argle-bargle * arguable * argue the toss * arguer * argy-bargy

    Anagrams

    * English reporting verbs ----

    retort

    English

    (wikipedia retort)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) retortus, from .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A sharp or witty reply, or one which turns an argument against its originator; a comeback.
  • Verb

    (en verb)
  • To say something sharp or witty in answer to a remark or accusation.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1905, author=
  • , title= , chapter=1 citation , passage=“It is a pity,” he retorted with aggravating meekness, “that they do not use a little common sense. The case resembles that of Columbus' ?egg, and is every bit as simple. […]”}}
  • To make a remark which reverses an argument upon its originator; to return, as an argument, accusation, censure, or incivility.
  • to retort the charge of vanity
  • * Milton
  • And with retorted scorn his back he turned.
  • To bend or curve back.
  • a retorted line
  • * Southey
  • With retorted head, pruned themselves as they floated.
  • To throw back; to reverberate; to reflect.
  • * Shakespeare
  • As when his virtues, shining upon others, / Heat them and they retort that heat again / To the first giver.
    Synonyms
    * (sharp reply) comeback, rejoinder, back answer

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) retorte.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (chemistry) A flask with a rounded base and a long neck that is bent down and tapered, used to heat a liquid for distillation.
  • :* 1893', A large curved ' retort was boiling furiously in the bluish flame of a Bunsen burner, and the distilled drops were condensing into a two-litre measure. — Arthur Conan Doyle, ‘The Naval Treaty’ (Norton 2005, p.670)
  • A container in which material is subjected to high temperatures]] as part of an industrial manufacturing process, especially during the smelting and [[forge, forging of metal.
  • Verb

    (en verb)
  • To heat in a retort.