reverberation

[ ri-vur-buh-rey-shuhn ]

noun

1. a reechoed sound.
2. the fact of being reverberated or reflected.
3. something that is reverberated:

   Reverberations from the explosion were felt within a six-mile radius.

4. an act or instance of reverberating.
5. Physics. the persistence of a sound after its source has stopped, caused by multiple reflection of the sound within a closed space.
6. the act or process of subjecting something to reflected heat, as in a reverberatory furnace.

Word History and Origins

Origin of reverberation¹

1350–1400; Middle English reverberacioun < Medieval Latin reverberātiōn- (stem of reverberātiō ). See reverberate, -ion

Example Sentences

Trump’s victory is a reverberation of trends set in motion in 2020.

From Salon

Tensions had been running high on a campus still feeling reverberations from this spring’s demonstrations, which bitterly divided the campus and turned violent when a pro-Palestinian encampment was attacked by counter-protesters.

From Los Angeles Times

Delivery problems in Georgia, a battleground state that has one of the worst on-time records in the nation, could have reverberations for the nation.

From Los Angeles Times

The revelations on West German doping landed like a bombshell, with the reverberations travelling around the world.

From BBC

“The reverberation explanation also doesn’t account for why it appears that only folks to the southwest of the venue heard it,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• repercussion