三個單詞均有當(dāng)事人在法庭審判時的答復(fù)或辯駁的含義。answer為“辯護”，是最通用詞匯，在司法程序中，指被告對原告指控的第一次答辯或提出相反陳述。在一般訴訟中，其可指答復(fù)書面質(zhì)詢的正式書面陳述；在離婚訴訟中為被告人對離婚請求的答復(fù)；在宗教法院中其被稱為申辯，但也要求有本人的答復(fù)[1]。reply為“答復(fù)”，用于指原告對被告答辯時提出的問題或反訴所作的答復(fù)和反駁；或?qū)Φ谌疆?dāng)事人的辯護的答復(fù)和反駁[2]。rejoinder為“第二次辯護”，指普通法訴訟中被告對原告之reply的辯駁[3]。
    
[1] “ A defendant's first pleading that addresses the merits of the case, usu. by denying the plaintiff's allegations. An answer usu. sets forth the defendant's defense and counterclaims. ”Cf. Bryan A. Gamer, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th edition, at p. 90，West Group (1999).
[2]“ In its general sense，the plaintiffs answer to a defendant's set-off or counterclaim. Under Fed. R. Civil p. 7 (a), a reply is only allowed in two situations： to a counterclaim denominated as such，or, on order of court, to an answer or a third-party answer. ”Cf. The Publisher's Editorial Staff, Black's Law Dictionary, abridged 6th edition, at p. 901，West Publishing Co. (1991).
[3]“The defendant's answer to the plaintiff's reply ( or replication). ”Cf. Bryan A. Gamer, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th edition, at p. 1291 , West Group (1999).