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respondent meaning and examples

2025-09-09

Meaning

A respondent is a person who gives answers in a survey, questionnaire, or interview. In law, a respondent is the person against whom a petition is filed in a case, especially in appellate or family law matters.

Grammar and Usage

  • Part of speech: Noun
  • Usage in general English: someone who replies or answers questions.
  • Usage in law: the opposing party who responds to an appeal or petition.

Typical structures:

  • respondent in a survey
  • the respondent argued that…
  • respondents were asked to provide feedback

Common Phrases

  • survey respondent – someone answering survey questions
  • legal respondent – a party against whom legal action is taken
  • key respondent – an important participant providing answers

Collocations

  • survey respondent
  • court respondent
  • interview respondent
  • appeal respondent
  • majority of respondents
  • anonymous respondents

Examples

  1. The survey had over 1,000 respondents from across the country.
  2. The respondent in the case denied all the allegations.
  3. Each respondent was asked to rate their level of satisfaction.
  4. The judge listened carefully to the respondent’s argument.
  5. Many respondents preferred online shopping over physical stores.
  6. The respondent must submit a written reply within 30 days.
  7. Only a few respondents gave detailed answers to the questionnaire.
  8. The respondent appealed the decision to a higher court.
  • participant
  • interviewee
  • subject
  • defendant (in some legal contexts)
  • replier

Antonym

  • petitioner (in law)
  • questioner
  • interviewer