- 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.
Last week, the Supreme Court delivered a resounding victory for workers in Flowers Foods Inc. v.
From Slate • Jun. 3, 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
The mostly likely answer to each of these questions is a resounding “no.”
From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026
So resounding was Drake’s defeat in this beef, one wondered if his reign as the genre’s most popular star was over and what he might do to re-establish himself upon his return.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
Others join, their voices carrying across the desert and resounding through the valley.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
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.
