report vs retort

report

verb
  • To make a formal statement, especially of complaint, about (someone). 

  • To write news reports (for); to cover as a journalist or reporter. 

  • To relate details of (an event or incident); to recount, describe (something). 

  • To repeat (something one has heard), to retell; to pass on, convey (a message, information etc.). 

  • To be accountable to or subordinate to (someone) in a hierarchy; to receive orders from (someone); to give official updates to (someone who is above oneself in a hierarchy). 

  • To show up or appear at an appointed time; to present oneself. 

  • To notify someone of (particular intelligence, suspicions, illegality, misconduct etc.); to make notification to relevant authorities; to submit a formal report of. 

  • To take minutes of (a speech, the doings of a public body, etc.); to write down from the lips of a speaker. 

noun
  • An employee whose position in a corporate hierarchy is below that of a particular manager. 

  • Reputation. 

  • The sharp, loud sound from a gun or explosion. 

  • A piece of information describing, or an account of certain events given or presented to someone, with the most common adpositions being by (referring to creator of the report) and on (referring to the subject). 

retort

verb
  • To say something sharp or witty in answer to a remark or accusation. 

  • To bend or curve back. 

  • To throw back; to reverberate; to reflect. 

  • To heat in a retort. 

  • To make a remark which reverses an argument upon its originator; to return, as an argument, accusation, censure, or incivility. 

noun
  • A pressure cooker. 

  • A crematory furnace. 

  • A sharp or witty reply, or one which turns an argument against its originator; a comeback. 

  • An airtight vessel in which material is subjected to high temperatures in the chemical industry or as part of an industrial manufacturing process, especially during the smelting and forging of metal. 

  • A flask with a rounded base and a long neck that is bent down and tapered, used to heat a liquid for distillation. 

How often have the words report and retort occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )