ripple

¹

[ rip-uhl ]

verb (used without object)

, rip·pled, rip·pling.

1. (of a liquid surface) to form small waves or undulations, as water agitated by a breeze.

   Synonyms: purl, undulate, wave

2. to flow with a light rise and fall or ruffling of the surface.
3. (of a solid surface) to form or have small undulations, ruffles, or folds.
4. (of sound) to undulate or rise and fall in tone, inflection, or magnitude.

verb (used with object)

, rip·pled, rip·pling.

1. to form small waves or undulations on; agitate lightly.

   Synonyms: dimple, curl, ruffle

2. to mark as if with ripples; give a wavy form to.

noun

1. a small wave or undulation, as on water.

   Synonyms: ruffle, wavelet

2. any similar movement or appearance; a small undulation or wave, as in hair.
3. a small rapid.
4. Geology. ripple mark.
5. a sound, as of water flowing in ripples:

   a ripple of laughter.

ripple

²

[ rip-uhl ]

noun

1. a toothed or comblike device for removing seeds or capsules from flax, hemp, etc.

verb (used with object)

, rip·pled, rip·pling.

1. to remove the seeds or capsules from (flax or hemp) with a ripple.

ripple

¹

/ ˈrɪpəl /

noun

1. a special kind of comb designed to separate the seed from the stalks in flax, hemp, or broomcorn

verb

1. tr to comb with this tool

ripple

²

/ ˈrɪpəl /

noun

1. a slight wave or undulation on the surface of water
2. a small wave or undulation in fabric, hair, etc
3. a sound reminiscent of water flowing quietly in ripples

   a ripple of laughter

4. electronics an oscillation of small amplitude superimposed on a steady value
5. another word for riffle
6. another word for ripple mark

verb

1. intr to form ripples or flow with a rippling or undulating motion
2. tr to stir up (water) so as to form ripples
3. tr to make ripple marks
4. intr (of sounds) to rise and fall gently

   her laughter rippled through the air

Derived Forms

• ˈrippler, noun
• ˈrippler, noun
• ˈripplingly, adverb
• ˈripply, adjective
• ˈrippling, adjective

Other Words From

• ripple·less adjective
• rippling·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ripple¹

First recorded in 1610–20; origin uncertain

Origin of ripple²

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English; cognate with West Frisian ripel, Dutch repel, German Riffel

Word History and Origins

Origin of ripple¹

C14: of Germanic origin; compare Middle Dutch repelen , Middle High German reffen to ripple

Origin of ripple²

C17: perhaps from rip ¹

Synonym Study

See wave.

Example Sentences

After a ripple of applause, she added: "We are not going to stand for it."

From BBC

In a speech at a United for Wildlife summit in Cape Town, Prince William said wildlife crime had "ripple effects" that were "profound for us all".

From BBC

Finally, the lesson from this election is that everything related to the economy is connected, and the policies proposed by Harris and Trump would have ripple effects.

From Salon

There are ripple effects across all the story’s players, touching on many aspects of our justice system, from substandard investigations that seed confirmation bias, to trials driven by political expediency and our need for good stories over the truth.

From Los Angeles Times

The Fairshake super PAC’s biggest donors include the crypto companies Coinbase and Ripple; Brian Armstrong, Coinbase’s chief executive; and Bay Area venture capitalists and crypto investors Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.

From Los Angeles Times