riposte

/ɹɪˈpoʊst/

a quick, clever reply to an attack or insult

riposte in a sentence

“When criticized for his youth, Kennedy delivered a perfect riposte.”

French, from Italian risposta (response), originally a fencing term

Related Words

bon mot

a witty remark or witticism

double entendre

a phrase with two meanings, one usually risqué

paraprosdokian

a sentence with an unexpected ending that reframes the beginning

malapropism

mistaken use of a word for a similar-sounding one

spoonerism

swapping initial sounds of words for comic effect

pun

a play on words exploiting multiple meanings