riposte
French, noun
riposte is spelled R-I-P-O-S-T-E (7 letters) and appears 3.0 times per million words in written French, the 16,088th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Riposte is a French feminine noun meaning “riposte” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of riposter. With an accent, riposté is a different word: “past participle of riposter”. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Réponse vive faite sur-le-champ, repartie prompte à quelque raillerie”.
What does riposte mean in English?
noun
- 1
feminineriposte
- 2
feminineretaliation, response, counterattack
Near-synonym: contre-attaque
- 3
feminineretort (witty response, quick reply)
verb
- 1
first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- 2
second-person singular imperative
verb
- 1
past participle of riposter
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Réponse vive faite sur-le-champ, repartie prompte à quelque raillerie. 2. Ce qui se fait sur-le-champ en réponse à une injure, à un coup, à un acte quelconque. 3. Action de défense par l'attaque. 4. Botte que l’on porte après avoir paré.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of riposte
- ripostes plural
- ripostée feminine
- ripostés masculine plural
- ripostées feminine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to riposte
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is riposte in French?
riposte appears 3.0 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).