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reciprocate

Pronunciation: /rɪˈsɪprəkeɪt/
Translate reciprocate | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of reciprocate

verb

  • 1 [with object] respond to (a gesture or action) by making a corresponding one:the favour was reciprocated [no object]:perhaps I was expected to reciprocate with some remark of my own
  • feel (affection or love) for someone in the same way that they feel it for oneself:her passion for him was not reciprocated
  • 2 [no object] (usually as adjective reciprocating) (of a part of a machine) move backwards and forwards in a straight line:a reciprocating blade

Derivatives

reciprocation

Pronunciation: /-ˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/
noun

reciprocator

noun

Origin:

late 16th century: from Latin reciprocat- 'moved backwards and forwards', from the verb reciprocare, from reciprocus (see reciprocal)

reciprocate in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of reciprocate in the US English dictionary
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