retort

Meanings

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

1. To say something sharp or witty in answer to a remark or accusation.
2. To make a remark which reverses an argument upon its originator; to return, as an argument, accusation, censure, or incivility.
3. To bend or curve back.
4. To throw back; to reverberate; to reflect.

1. A flask with a rounded base and a long neck that is bent down and tapered, used to heat a liquid for distillation.
2. An airtight vessel in which material is subjected to high temperatures in the chemical industry or as part of an industrial manufacturing process, especially during the smelting and forging of metal.
3. A pressure cooker.
4. A crematory furnace.

1. To heat in a retort.

Etymology

From Middle English retorte, from Latin retortus, from retorquēre (“to be forced to twist back”).