echoic

American  

[e-koh-ik] / ɛˈkoʊ ɪk /

adjective

1. resembling an echo.

2. onomatopoeic.

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echoic British  

/ ɛˈkəʊɪk /

adjective

1. characteristic of or resembling an echo

2. onomatopoeic; imitative

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Other Word Forms

• nonechoic adjective
• unechoic adjective

Etymology

Origin of echoic

From the Latin word ēchōicus, dating back to 1875–80. See echo, -ic

Example Sentences

These echoes heavily distort speech, interfering with slowly varying sound features most important for understanding conversations, yet people still reliably understand echoic speech.

From Science Daily • Feb. 15, 2024

From Black Sabbath to the Beach Boys and Radiohead, many acts have recorded in the echoic halls of churches to great effect, but nobody has done it quite like American avant-garde provocateur Diamanda Galás.

From The Guardian • May 11, 2017

It was a brilliant solution: as Lennon’s voice faded into the echoic distance, the orchestra began its buildup, ending sharply on the chord that begins Mr. McCartney’s section.

From New York Times • Mar. 9, 2016

First recorded around 970, its roots are in Old English and it offers a satisfactorily echoic thumping sound.

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2014

The confusion of sound which our critic complains of is not to be remedied merely by silencing the chorus of echoic voices.

From The Poet's Poet : essays on the character and mission of the poet as interpreted in English verse of the last one hundred and fifty years by Atkins, Elizabeth