Dictionary Definition
answer
Noun
1 a statement (either spoken or written) that is
made in reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation;
"I waited several days for his answer"; "he wrote replies to
several of his critics" [syn: reply, response]
2 a statement that solves a problem or explains
how to solve the problem; "they were trying to find a peaceful
solution"; "the answers were in the back of the book"; "he computed
the result to four decimal places" [syn: solution, result, resolution, solvent]
3 the speech act of replying to a question [ant:
question]
4 the principle pleading by the defendant in
response to plaintiff's complaint; in criminal law it consists of
the defendant's plea of `guilty' or `not guilty' (or nolo
contendere); in civil law it must contain denials of all
allegations in the plaintiff's complaint that the defendant hopes
to controvert and it can contain affirmative defenses or
counterclaims
5 a nonverbal reaction; "his answer to any
problem was to get drunk"; "their answer was to sue me"
Verb
1 reply or respond to; "She didn't want to
answer"; "answer the question"; "We answered that we would accept
the invitation" [syn: reply, respond]
2 give the correct answer or solution to; "answer
a question"; "answer the riddle"
3 respond to a signal; "answer the door"; "answer
the telephone"
4 understand the meaning of; "The question
concerning the meaning of life cannot be answered" [syn: resolve]
5 give a defence or refutation of (a charge) or
in (an argument); "The defendant answered to all the charges of the
prosecution"
6 be liable or accountable; "She must answer for
her actions"
7 be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality
or quantity; "A few words would answer"; "This car suits my purpose
well"; "Will $100 do?"; "A 'B' grade doesn't suffice to get me into
medical school"; "Nothing else will serve" [syn: suffice, do, serve]
8 match or correspond; "The drawing of the
suspect answers to the description the victim gave"
9 be satisfactory for; meet the requirements of
or serve the purpose of; "This may answer her needs"
10 react to a stimulus or command; "The steering
of my new car answers to the slightest touch"
User Contributed Dictionary
Extensive Definition
An answer was originally a
solemn assertion in opposition to some one or something, and thus
generally any counter-statement or defence, a reply to a question
or objection, or a correct solution of a problem. In the common law, an
answer is the first pleading by a defendant, usually filed and
served upon the plaintiff within a certain
strict time limit after a civil complaint or criminal information or indictment has been served
upon the defendant. It may have been preceded by an optional
"pre-answer" motion to
dismiss or demurrer; if such a motion is
unsuccessful, the defendant must file an answer to the complaint or
risk an adverse default
judgment.
The answer establishes which
allegations (cause of
action in civil matters) set forth by the complaining party
will be contested by the defendant, and states all the defendant's
defenses,
thus establishing the nature and parameters of the controversy to
be decided by the court.
In the case of a criminal case
there is usually an arraignment or some other
kind of appearance before the court by the defendant. The pleading
in the criminal case, which is entered on the record in open court,
is either guilty or not
guilty. Generally speaking in private, civil cases there is no
guilt or innocence. There is only a judgment that grants money
damages or some other kind of equitable
remedy such as restitution or an injunction. Criminal cases
may lead to fines or other
punishment, such as
imprisonment.
The famous Latin Responsa
Prudentium ("answers of the learned ones") were the accumulated
views of many successive generations of Roman lawyers, a body of
legal opinion which gradually became authoritative.
In music an "answer" (also
known as countersubject) is the
technical name in counterpoint for the repetition or modification
by one part or instrument of a theme proposed by
another.
Generally, an answer is a
reply to a question or is a solution, a retaliation, or a
response.
References
answer in German:
Antwort
answer in Dutch:
Antwoord
answer in Polish:
Odpowiedź
answer in Russian:
Ответ
answer in Yiddish:
ענטפער
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Agnus Dei, Benedicite, ESP, Gloria, Gloria Patri, Gloria in
Excelsis, Introit,
Magnificat, Miserere, Nunc Dimittis,
Parthian shot, Te Deum, Trisagion, Vedic hymn,
accomplishment,
accord, acknowledge, acknowledgment, action, action and reaction, ad
hoc measure, address,
advance, advantage, advocate, affect, affirmation, agree, allegation, allege in
support, alleluia,
answer back, answer conclusively, answer for, answer to, anthem, antiphon, antiphonal chanting,
antiphony, apostrophe, appertain to,
apply to, approach,
argue down, argue for, argument, artifice, ascertainment, assent, assert, assertion, assort with, atone
for, automatic reaction, autonomic reaction, avail, averment, be OK, be consistent,
be equal to, be handy, be of one, be of use, be right, be uniform
with, bear, bear on, bear
upon, befit, befitting, belong to, benefit, bestead, billet, bottom, bounceback, business letter,
canticle, champion, chant, check, chime, chit, chorale, clear up, clearing up,
coequal, cohere, coincide, come back, come back
at, come in, comeback,
comment, commerce, communicate with,
communication,
communion, complement, complete answer,
concern, concur, conform, conform to, conform
with, confound,
confounding,
confutation,
confute, congress, connect, connection, consist with,
contact, contend for,
contradict, contradiction, contrivance, controversion, controvert, conversation, converse, cooperate, correspond, correspond to,
correspondence,
counter, countercharge, countermove, counterstatement,
coup, course of action,
crack, cracking, crush, deal with, dealing, dealings, debug, decipher, decipherment, declaration, decode, decoding, defeat, defence, defend, defense, demarche, demolish, demolition, demurrer, denial, denouement, deny, determination, device, dictum, discrediting, disentangle, disentanglement,
dismiss, dispatch, dispose of, disprove, divine, do, do it, do the job, do the trick,
dodge, dope, dope out, dovetail, doxology, echo, effective rejoinder, effort, end, end result, epistle, espouse, establish connection,
exception, exchange, exclamation, expedient, explain, explanation, expression, fall in together,
fathom, favor, figure out, fill, fill the bill, find out, find
the answer, find the solution, finding, finding-out, finish, fit, fit together, flash back,
floor, forward, fulfill, get, get by, get right, get to,
gimmick, give
acknowledgment, give answer, give good returns, go around, go
together, go with, greeting, guarantee, guess, guess right, hack it,
hallelujah, hang
together, harmonize,
have connection with, have it, hit, hit it, hold, hold together, hosanna, hymn, hymn of praise, hymnody, hymnography, hymnology, improvisation, information, interaction, interchange, intercommunication,
intercommunion,
intercourse,
interest, interjection, interlock, interplay, interpret, interpretation, interrogate, intersect, involve, issue, jibe, jury-rig, jury-rigged
expedient, just do, justification, last
expedient, last resort, last shift, laud, letter, liaise with, line, linguistic intercourse, link
with, lock, maintain, make a plea, make
advances, make contact with, make out, make overtures, make the
grade, make up to, makeshift, maneuver, mantra, match, means, measure, meet, meet requirements, mention, message, missive, motet, move, nonplus, not come amiss,
note, objection, observation, offertory, offertory sentence,
open the lock, outcome,
overlap, overthrow, overthrowal, overturn, overwhelm, paean, parallel, parry, pass, pass muster, pay, pay off, pertain to, phrase, pis aller, plea, plead for, pleading, plumb, position, predictable response,
profit, promote, pronouncement, psalm, psalmody, psych, psych out, put to silence,
puzzle out, qualify,
question, raise, ravel, ravel out, reach, react, reaction, reason, rebut, rebuttal, rebutter, reciprocate, recognize, recriminate, reduce to
silence, reecho, refer
to, reflection,
reflex, reflex action,
refluence, reflux, refutal, refutation, refute, regard, register, register with,
rejoin, rejoinder, relate, relate to, remark, replication, reply, reply to, report, rescript, resolution, resolve, resolving, resort, resource, respect, respond, respond to, respondence, response, responsory, responsory
report, result, retort, retroaction, return, return answer, return for
answer, reverberate,
reverberation,
revulsion, riddle, riddling, riposte, rise, satisfy, say, say in defense, say in reply,
saying, sentence, serve, serve the purpose, settle, shake-up, shift, shoot back, shut up,
silence, sing in chorus,
smash all opposition, snap back, social intercourse, solution, solve, solving, sort out, sort with,
sorting out, speak for, speak up for, speaking, special demurrer,
special pleading, speech,
speech circuit, speech situation, sponsor, square, square with, squash, squelch, stand, stand together, stand up,
stand up for, statement, statement of
defense, step, stick up
for, stopgap, stratagem, stretch, stroke, stroke of policy,
subjoinder, subversion, subvert, suffice, suit, suit the occasion, support, surrebuttal, surrebutter, surrejoinder, sustain, tactic, take it, take the bait,
talk back, talking,
tally, telepathy, temporary
expedient, thought, tie
in with, touch, touch
upon, traffic, treat of,
trick, truck, trump, two-way communication,
undermine, undermining, undo, unlock, unravel, unraveling, unriddle, unriddling, unscramble, unscrambling, unspinning, untangle, untangling, unthinking
response, untwist,
untwisting, unweave, unweaving, uphold, upset, upsetting, upshot, urge reasons for,
utterance, versicle, word, work, work out, working, working hypothesis,
working proposition, working-out, yield a profit