Antonym of "response"

Question

Suppose you're on an internet forum.  If post Y is a response to post X, then X is a [WHAT] to Y?  What's the antonym of "response", here?  The word coming to mind is "antecedent", but that's not the right word.  The thesauruses I looked at (online) weren't very helpful; most of them didn't list any antonyms, and the ones that did gave words only kinda relevant, in context, like "cause".

Anton · Accepted Answer

Your question is a precursor to my answer.

precursor: one that precedes and indicates the approach of another
Merriam Webster

The word offers a little extra meaning (“and indicates the approach of ...”) to that of a mere antecedent.

PJB · Answer

The original post in a thread is frequently referred to as the "original post" and often abbreviated as "OP."

GEdgar · Answer

related, but perhaps not exactly what you want

call and response
2. A form of verbal interaction between a speaker and listeners, usually at religious or public gatherings, in which each utterance by the speaker elicits a response from the audience.
Lexico

example:
Speaker: What do we want?
Crowd: Justice!
Speaker: When do we want it?
Crowd: Now!
[repeat]

Dan · Answer

By analogy with psychological and biological usage you might describe Post Y as a response to the stimulus of Post X (Britannica)

Antonym of "response"

4 Answers

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question