- present participle of resound.
resounding
Americanadjective
-
making an echoing sound.
a resounding thud.
-
uttered loudly.
resounding speech.
-
impressively thorough or complete.
a resounding popular success.
adjective
-
clear and emphatic; unmistakable
a resounding vote of confidence
-
full of or characterized by resonance; reverberating
a resounding slap
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of resounding
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at resound, -ing 2
Explanation
Resounding describes something obvious or unambiguous. If it's clear that every single guest had a wonderful time, you can call your party a resounding success. Use this adjective to emphasize how great (or terrible) something is, like your best friend's resounding victory in the student council election, or the resounding disaster of your plan to carpet your bedroom using moss. It's also useful for describing a sound that echoes or reverberates: "The resounding slam of her bedroom door told me my sister was really angry." The Latin root means "echo."
Vocabulary lists containing resounding
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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.
Meta’s answer, articulated across years of filings and months of litigation, is a resounding “no.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Both Paxton and Platner won resounding victories in their primaries over more establishment candidates who were comparatively free of scandal.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
The answer, she decided, was a resounding yes.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
The letters of intent inked last month for IBM, D-Wave, and other quantum businesses are a resounding endorsement of a technology once dismissed as highly speculative.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
With that latest No resounding in his ears, Jerry had expected the school building to fall or something dramatic to happen.
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
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.
