Learn English – nother word for ‘listening’ to an answer

verbs

We 'listen' when we're being told something. Is there another verb for 'listening' to an answer to a question we asked?

Is 'receiving' an appropriate word for it? It sounds reasonable in the context of the answer being in a written format

"I have received an answer"

But it doesn't sound right if the answer happens to be in an audible format (think two people face to face, instead of the answer being a recording)

P.S.: I'm not looking for 'hear'. I'm asking if there's a verb that carries the same weight as 'listen', but applies specifically to the situation of being given an answer.

Best Answer

You can "accept" someone's answer, just as you can "receive" a package.

There are two competing connotations to "accepting" an answer, however: in the first, you simply "take receipt of it", without passing judgement; in the second, you are contrasting what you did to "rejecting" the answer: you both "took receipt" and "approved" of it.

For examples of the first connotation (take receipt without passing judgment or approving), which seems to be what you're seeking:

OED:

To take or receive (something offered) willingly.

Macmillan:

Take something offered; (trans) to take something that someone gives you

Oxford Dictionaries Online:

Consent to receive (a thing offered)

Collins:

(trans) To take (what is offered or given); receive, esp. willingly

Merriam-Webster:

(a) To receive willingly and (b) To be able (or designed) to take or hold (something applied or added)

Google Definition:

Consent to receive (a thing offered).

"He accepted a pen from George"

synonyms: receive, take, get, gain, obtain

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