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ribattere

to retort

verb ree-BAHT-teh-reh Rare
Communication Speech

Also means

to rivet again

Usage Note

Ribattere has two distinct uses: in conversation it means to retort or counter an argument (ribattere a un'accusa — to respond to an accusation); in manual trades it means to hammer back or re-rivet. The first sense is far more common in modern Italian. It takes avere in compound tenses and is regular in conjugation.

Examples

"Non riusciva a ribattere alle sue argomentazioni."

Natural Translation

He could not retort to her arguments.

Literal Translation

Not he-managed to retort to-the her arguments.

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