A respondent is a person who is called upon to issue a response to a communication made by another. In legal usage, this specifically refers to the defendant in a legal proceeding commenced by a petition, or to an appellee, or the opposing party, in an appeal of a decision by an initial fact-finder. In non-legal or informal usage, the term refers to one who refutes or responds to a thesis or an argument. In cross-cultural communication, the second person responding to the meaning or message from an original source which has been contextualised or decoded for the understanding of respondents as recipients or hearers of the message occurring from a different cultural context

Respondent (latin, 'den som svarar') är benämning på och tilltal till en författare av en doktorsavhandlings eller akademisk uppsats under disputationen eller presentationen. Respondent kallas även den person som intervjuas, t.ex. av en journalist eller en forskare.

Respondent osoba, której opinie stanowią przedmiot badania w naukach społecznych, najczęściej w badaniach kwestionariuszowych, także: telefonicznych, pocztowych, internetowych. Respondenci dobierani są do badań na podstawie założeń badania probabilistycznego.