Distinguishing Between Response & Respond

Response vs. Respond

In mastering the English language, some people may find it confusing to differentiate between certain noun and verb pairs due to their similar spellings and pronunciation. One such pair is “response” and “respond,” where one is a noun and the other is a verb. This article aims to clarify the proper usage of these two words.

Key Takeaways

• Response is a noun, while respond is a verb.
• You wait for a response while you respond to a stimulus.
• A response can be a verbal reply or a physical action in reaction to a stimulus.

Response

A response can be a person’s reaction to a stimulus. For example, if it suddenly starts raining, causing you to open your umbrella, the act of opening the umbrella is your response to the rain. A response can be a verbal reply, or it could be a physical action like shaking hands with someone.

When a mosquito bites a person, the individual may scratch the affected area, which is their response to the mosquito bite. Therefore, a response is something that a person gives to any stimulus.

Examples:
• I am not getting the kind of response from my friend that I am used to getting.
• His letters to the department elicited a lukewarm response only.
• He paid his balance on his credit card in response to a reminder letter from the company.

Respond

If someone is waiting for your reply, they are waiting for your response, or they are waiting for you to respond. This sentence illustrates that the action or reply to a question is the response one gives, while the actual act is what is meant by “respond.”

Respond means to react. So, when you get a reply to your question, you say that the person responded to your query. To speak in reply to a question is to respond verbally, while to act in reply to a stimulus is to respond appropriately.

Examples:
• Henry responded with a laugh when I gave a suggestion.
• The French military responded by bombing the enemy lines.
• Please respond to my offer quickly.

What is the difference between Response and Respond?

• Response is a noun, while respond is its verb.
• You wait for a response while you respond to a stimulus.
• A doctor waits for the response shown by their patient to the drugs administered.
• You give a response to a stimulus while you are said to respond to a stimulus.