All 3 Uses

retort
in
Arrowsmith
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Gottlieb retorted with spirit and indiscretion.†
Chpt 12 *

retorted = quickly replied
I'd expected there'd be such larky retorts and electric furnaces and everything but, honestly, I don't see a single thing that's interesting, and I do think all you clever people ought to do SOMETHING for us, now that you've coaxed us all the way down here.†
Chpt 27

retorts = replies quickly
His confrere, Stokes, retorted that perhaps it couldn't be plague, but it damn' well WAS plague.†
Chpt 31

retorted = quickly replied

Definitions:

(1) (retort as in: quick retort)
a quick reply to a question or remark -- especially a witty or critical one
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)