reverberate
Americanverb (used without object)
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to reecho or resound.
Her singing reverberated through the house.
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Physics. to be reflected many times, as sound waves from the walls of a confined space.
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to rebound or recoil.
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to be deflected, as flame in a reverberatory furnace.
verb (used with object)
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to echo back or reecho (sound).
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to cast back or reflect (light, heat, etc.).
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to subject to reflected heat, as in a reverberatory furnace.
adjective
verb
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(intr) to resound or re-echo
the explosion reverberated through the castle
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to reflect or be reflected many times
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(intr) to rebound or recoil
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(intr) (of the flame or heat in a reverberatory furnace) to be deflected onto the metal or ore on the hearth
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(tr) to heat, melt, or refine (a metal or ore) in a reverberatory furnace
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of reverberate
First recorded in 1540–50, reverberate is from the Latin word reverberātus (past participle of reverberāre to strike back). See reverberant, -ate 1
Explanation
If you give a loud shout in a cavernous place, like a gym or a church, the sound of your voice will reverberate throughout the room. Reverberate means sound waves traveling back and forth, as in an echo. Often we use reverberate to talk about sound, or sometimes light. If a noise echoes for a long time, we can say the space reverberates with that noise. You may have heard of a reverb effect in audio processing, which is basically a long echo. We also use the word metaphorically to describe the impact of huge events. For example, the 2008 mortgage crisis in the U.S. reverberated throughout the world’s economy, causing a global recession.
Vocabulary lists containing reverberate
Grade 9, List 2
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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The Diary of Anne Frank
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Pop-Country Echoes and Movie Songs Reverberate in a Cabaret Setting What do we mean when we use the word perfection?
From New York Times • Apr. 11, 2010
Thine eyes are rolling a tempestuous light Above, below, around, As putting thunder-questions without cloud, Reverberate without sound, To universal nature's depth and height.
From The Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Vol. I by Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
Though the swords in my heart for one were seven, Would the iron hollow of doubtful heaven, That knows not itself whether night-time or day be, Reverberate words and a foolish prayer?
From Poems & Ballads (First Series) by Swinburne, Algernon Charles
Not only the whispered prayer Of love, But the imprecations of hate, Reverberate Forever and ever through the air Above!
From The Golden Legend by Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth
Doth that curse Reverberate spare us, seraph or universe?
From The Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Vol. I by Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
