A respondent is a person who is called upon to issue a response to a communication made by another.
In legal usage, this term specifically refers to the defendant in a legal proceeding commenced by a petitioner, and also to an appellee, or the opposing party, in an appeal from a decision by an initial fact-finder or tribunal.
[1] In the United States Senate, the two sides in an impeachment trial are called the management and the respondent.
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.