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Glite Dictionary
reply-paid

reply-paid

6.8
An envelope or card with return postage already paid by the sender
  • adjective
  • UK
translation icon : franqueado
  • A reply-paid envelope was included for participants to return their signed consent form if they wished to participate.

Examples

  • The application included a reply-paid envelope for applicants to easily send back their forms.

  • I was also mildly amused at your reference to the reply-paid postcard with a tear-off bookmark.

    Blog text (17)

  • (More like the letter from St. Matthew's Church in Tulsa, with the paper 'prayer rug', that's going back to them in their reply-paid envelope.)

    Blog text (30)

  • These were excluded from the mailing list, and 202 members were sent questionnaires in 1986 and 219 in 1991, with a cover letter and a reply-paid, addressed, return envelope on both occasions.

    Academic text (1992)

  • To make it easy for participants, a reply-paid postcard was provided for their feedback.

  • Each newsletter came with a reply-paid envelope so readers could share their thoughts quickly.

Synonyms

post-paid
vsreply-paid
1 3.2

The sender pays the postage before delivery

is limited to cases where sender prepays postage for recipient return mail
postpaid
vsreply-paid
3.7

Sent with the postage paid by the sender so the person who gets it does not pay

is focused on the sender prepaying postage specifically for recipient return mail
post-free
vsreply-paid
  • UK
4.6

Sent with postage paid by the sender so the receiver does not pay

is narrower, applying when the sender prepays postage for returning items
prepaid
vsreply-paid
2.5

You pay for it before you use it

is the specific case of sender prepaying postage to cover recipient return mail

Surface Forms

reply-paid positive

Morphology

reply-paid = reply + paid (transparent) = reply + paid

Built from the noun 'reply' and the past-participle adjective 'paid' to mean that the cost of replying has already been paid.

Etymology

Reply-paid comes from the plain words reply ('answer') and paid, meaning the cost to answer is already paid by the sender. So a reply-paid envelope or postcard has the postage 'paid' by the sender, and the person can just drop it in the mail without paying, which is why companies use it to make replying easy.