respondent

noun

• 1 Law a party against whom a petition is filed, especially one in an appeal or a divorce case.

• 2a person who replies to something, especially one supplying information for a questionnaire or responding to an advertisement: out of the many thousands of respondents to our questionnaire, under a fifth were full-time housewives

adjective

• 1 Law in the position of a party defending against a petition:the respondent defendant

• 2replying to something:the respondent firms in the survey

• 3 Psychology involving or denoting a response, especially a conditioned reflex, to a specific stimulus.