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
Derived Forms
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reverberationnoun
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reverberatornoun
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reverberantadjective
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reverberativeadjective
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unreverberatedadjective
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unreverberatingadjective
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unreverberativeadjective
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reverberantlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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reverberatesimple
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reverberatessimple
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have reverberatedperfect
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has reverberatedperfect
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am reverberatingprogressive
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are reverberatingprogressive
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is reverberatingprogressive
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have been reverberatingperfect progressive
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has been reverberatingperfect progressive
Past
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reverberatedsimple
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had reverberatedperfect
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was reverberatingprogressive
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were reverberatingprogressive
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had been reverberatingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
The repercussions of this method still reverberate through Panettiere’s life today, with the actress musing: “I’ve often wondered whether—unintentionally—I’ve brought on my traumas because I’m wired to think they’re good for me.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
A rare occurrence likes this tends to get attention, as similar decisions from major central banks within a short period can reverberate into markets.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
A remarkable back-of-the-envelope calculation from a currency strategist shows just how big SpaceX’s initial public offering could reverberate in global markets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
The effects on their family of five still reverberate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
The echo seemed to reverberate through the vessel for a solid minute.
From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner
The thud of fists walloping punching bags reverberates through the gym from morning until evening.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
One can be thought of as “ripple-out” inflation, where a shock to an economically ubiquitous input — like energy — reverberates throughout other goods and sectors that depend upon it.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026
Inflation erodes confidence in the future; the psychic blow of 2008 still reverberates; young voters, especially millennials, remember those days of anxiety.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
“Whatever blow we receive reverberates in the entire economy,” Francisco González, president of the National Industry of Auto Parts, told Mexico’s El Heraldo Radio.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2025
Higher-ups bark orders, and the thunder of hundreds of boots stomping against dry ground reverberates through my body.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
The blast took place at a unit supplying gas to local firms and reverberated across the capital Doha.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
The plant’s low rumble reverberated across the surrounding desert, unusually green from a recent rain.
From Salon ● May 10, 2026
With uncertainty looming abroad, Kent’s resignation reverberated in Washington, where it exposed new divisions over the administration’s handling of the war.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
Foreign diplomats still file through, surveying the devastation - a reminder that the assault reverberated well beyond the newsroom.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026
They reverberated around the walls of the cave like thunder and the glass jars rattled on their shelves.
From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl
O’Regan further pointed out that weakness in the Korean chip sector could be reverberating across the sector on Friday.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Changes in how we work are reverberating around the world, sparking debate from Asia to Europe to the United States.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
Those changes have rocked the exhibition business in ways that are still reverberating today.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026
A war-fueled surge in the price of fertilizer is reverberating from Wall Street to the American heartland, sending shares of producers soaring while forcing farmers into tough choices ahead of spring planting season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
Dark figures were blundering through the trees; children were crying; anxious shouts and panicked voices were reverberating around them in the cold night air.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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.
