riposte

/ɹɪˈpəʊst/

//ɹɪˈpəʊst// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"riposte" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“riposte” is uncommon English (frequency #57,023 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,023
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A thrust given in return after parrying an attack.

Corpus desk

Index EN-riposte · riposte · English

riposte · rank #57,023 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,023
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH rive

Nearest frequency peer: rive (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “riposte”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “riposte” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for riposte
PropertyValue
Headwordriposte
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹɪˈpəʊst/
Letters7
Frequency rank#57,023
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “riposte” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).ripostefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “rive” (#57,024), “revaluation” (#57,021), “Reuter” (#57,020). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “riposte” is #57,023. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

riposte is uncommon English at frequency #57,023 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɹɪˈpəʊst/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for riposte, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French riposte, taken from Italian risposta, a derivative of the verb rispondere (“to respond”). The correct English form is riposte, spelled R-I-P-O-S-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A thrust given in return after parrying an attack.
  2. 2
    A counter-attack in any combat or any sport.
  3. 3
    A quick and usually witty response to a taunt.
  4. 4
    An answer or reply, rapidly uttered, in response to a question or problem.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how riposte appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Some context is required. Moldova were weak at the back and blunt up front, and have failed to score in six matches stretching back to last October, with only hints at English complacency offering them glimpses of summoning a riposte.
  2. This face-saving reminds us of some American ripostes a few months back when their space rockets seemed disinclined to leave the earth very far behind; after all, they said, the Russians are only chucking heavy machinery at the moon, whereas we're trying to be more sophisticated and get a sewing-machine up there.

Etymology

From French riposte, taken from Italian risposta, a derivative of the verb rispondere (“to respond”).

This word in other languages

Riposte(Deutsch)resposta(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "riposte"?
"riposte" is spelled R-I-P-O-S-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈpəʊst/.
What does "riposte" mean?
As a noun, "riposte" means: A thrust given in return after parrying an attack.
How do you pronounce "riposte"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "riposte" is /ɹɪˈpəʊst/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "riposte"?
From French riposte, taken from Italian risposta, a derivative of the verb rispondere (“to respond”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "riposte", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Roubaix#57,034sautéed#57,047sciatic#57,049preempt#56,988

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list