riposte
noun
definition 1: a quick return thrust in fencing, made after parrying a lunge by one’s opponent.
definition 2: a sharp response, usually spoken; retort.
example: At the press conference, the celebrity fended off accusations with clever ripostes.
intransitive verb
definition 1: to make a riposte in fencing.
definition 2: to give a quick response; retort.
Examples from Books
“You think that I am here in order to spy upon you?”
“Oh!” he riposted lightly, “how could I be so presumptuous as to suppose that the beautiful Cabarrus would bestow attention on so unworthy an object as I?”
(The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel, Baroness Orczy)