Repartee from spite or confusion (7)
I believe the answer is:
riposte
'repartee' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'spite or confusion' is the wordplay.
'confusion' indicates an anagram.
'spite'+'or'='spiteor'
'spiteor' with letters rearranged gives 'RIPOSTE'.
'from' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for riposte that I've seen before include "Quick clever reply" , "Fencer's counterattack" , "Return thrust or repartee" , "Reply, response" , "Sharp answer" .)