Definition of "parry" [par•ry]

• To deflect or ward off (a fencing thrust, for example). (verb-transitive)
• To deflect, evade, or avoid: He skillfully parried the question with a clever reply. (verb-transitive)
• To deflect or ward off a thrust or blow. (verb-intransitive)
• The deflecting or warding off of a thrust or blow, as in fencing. (noun)
• An evasive answer or action. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The nearest thing to a parry is called “cutting off”."
• "With a swift short sword parry that left his opponent's guard open, the leader withdrew his broadsword from the chest of his enemy."
• "It was one of those mean feminine thrusts to parry which is to acknowledge, to ignore is to admit fear."