GIVE ANSWERS - English

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Difference between "reply", "answer" and "respond"?


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Berlusconi profile picture BerlusconiMarch 2020
I think that 'respond' and 'answer' are interchangeable. They mean reacting to a question, but 'reply' can be reacting to any other thing which isn't necessarily a question.
Phil926 profile picture Phil926March 2020
A "response" does not necessarily have to be verbal. TECHNICALLY, an "answer" doesn't have to be verbal but in most cases it is. A response is not necessarily to a question either. For example, if a huge, mean, dog comes at me I can "respond" with fear. If someone says something mean I can "respond" with a scowl. An answer is, in most cases, a "response" to a question. So in that regard, an answer is a form of response but a response does not need to be an answer. Much like water is H2O but H2O is not necessarily water; it can be ice or steam.

A reply is verbal and Berlusconi is correct, it does not necessarily have to be a response to a question. In this regard a "response" and a "reply" are similar; they do not need to be in response to questions. However, a reply is verbal whereas a response does not have to be verbal.
  • Phil926 profile picture Phil926March 2020
    To clarify a little more, the three words can, in SOME cases, be interchanged. But there are some cases where one word is more appropriate than the others, such as the examples I gave.
rickycom profile picture rickycomMarch 2020

https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-grammar-made-easy-s2-71-answer-vs-reply-vs-respond/