Resound

/ɹɪˈzaʊnd/ noun, verb

noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: An echoing or reverberating sound; a resounding.
  • Grammar: resound is listed as noun, verb.
  • Nearest alternatives: echo, reverberate, ring, awake the dead.
  • Useful contrasts: dampen, fade, forget.
  • Usage evidence: After a year or two, it came to pass that the King's son rode through the forest and went by the tower. Then he heard a song, which was so charming that he stood still and listened. This was Rapunzel, who in her solitude passed her time in letting her sweet voice resound.

How to use "resound"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "resound" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "resound" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "resound" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "resound" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "resound" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "echo" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "resound", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An echoing or reverberating sound; a resounding. countable

    "Presently, out of the turmoil, the fighting of horses, the resound of blows, the murky cloud of dust and sand, he crawled, in time to see the Corinthian and Byzantine go on down the course after Ben-Hur, who had not been an instant delayed."

  2. 2
    The quality of echoing or reverberating; resonance. uncountable

    "And you ô trees (if any life there lies / In trees) now though your porous barkes receave / The straunge resounde of these my causeful cries: […]"

Verb
  1. 1
    To make (sounds), or to speak (words), loudly or reverberatingly. transitive

    "VVith noyſe vvhereof the quyre of Byrds reſounded / their anthemes ſvveet devized of loues prayſe, / that all the vvoods theyr ecchoes back rebounded, / as if they knevv the meaning of their layes."

  2. 2
    To echo or repeat (a sound). transitive

    "Any new alarms, from any patient, will resound the alarm tone."

  3. 3
    emit a noise wordnet
  4. 4
    Of a place: to cause (a sound) to reverberate; to echo. transitive

    "The foreſt wide is fitter to reſound / The hollow Echo of my carefull cryes, […]"

  5. 5
    To sound again. intransitive
Show 8 more definitions
  1. 6
    ring or echo with sound wordnet
  2. 7
    To praise or spread the fame of (someone or something) with the voice or the sound of musical instruments; to celebrate, to extol; also, to declare (someone) to be a certain thing. transitive

    "This is the famous Promontory of Sigeum, honored vvith the ſepulcher of Achilles, vvhich Alexander (viſiting it in his Aſian expedition) couered vvith flovvers, and ranne naked about it, as then the cuſtome vvas in funerals: ſacrificing to the ghoſt of his kinſman, vvhom he reputed moſt happie, that had ſuch a trumpet as Homer, to reſound his vertues."

  3. 8
    To repeat (another's words, opinions, etc.). transitive

    "As far as the immediate area, [the greatest anti-gay influence] has got to be the Church; it's definitely the Mormon Church. You know the current Moral Majority movement seems to be a likening to that. You know many Mormons may not like Reverend Falwell, but they'll certainly resound his sentiments."

  4. 9
    Of a place: to reverberate with sound or noise. intransitive

    "The street resounded with the noise of the children’s game."

  5. 10
    Of a sound, a voice, etc.: to reverberate; to ring. intransitive

    "[W]hen thoſe pittifull outcries he [Proteus] heard, / Through all the ſeas ſo ruefully reſovvnd, / His charett ſvvifte in haſt he thether ſteard, […]"

  6. 11
    Especially of a musical instrument: to make a (deep or reverberating) sound; also, to make sounds continuously. intransitive

    "The sound of the brass band resounded through the town."

  7. 12
    Of an event: to have a major effect in a certain place or time. figuratively, intransitive
  8. 13
    Of a person, their reputation, etc.: to be much lauded or mentioned. figuratively, intransitive

    "[I]t ſeemes that this place is conuerted into the Paſtoral Arcadia, it is ful of ſhepheards and ſheepfolds, and there is no one part thereof vvherein the name of the beautifull Leandra reſoundeth not: […]"

Synonyms

All synonyms
echoreverberateringawake the deadbe reflectedbe sent back

Example

"After a year or two, it came to pass that the King's son rode through the forest and went by the tower. Then he heard a song, which was so charming that he stood still and listened. This was Rapunzel, who in her solitude passed her time in letting her sweet voice resound."

Common questions

What does "resound" mean?

An echoing or reverberating sound; a resounding.

What is a synonym for "resound"?

Common synonyms include: echo, reverberate, ring, awake the dead, be reflected, be sent back.

How do you use "resound" in a sentence?

After a year or two, it came to pass that the King's son rode through the forest and went by the tower. Then he heard a song, which was so charming that he stood still and listened. This was Rapunzel, who in her solitude passed her time in letting her sweet voice resound.

How do you pronounce "resound"?

Pronounced /ɹɪˈzaʊnd/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From both of the following: * From Late Middle English resounen (“to return with an echo, resound; to make a sound, to sound; of speech or writing: to announce a theme”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman resoner, resouner [and other forms], Middle French resoner, and Old French resoner (“to make a (deep or echoing) sound; of sounds: to echo; to ring; of one’s name or actions: to be frequently recounted; of a place: to re-echo or ring with sound”) (modern French résonner), from Latin resonāre, the present active infinitive of resonō (“to ring or sound again, re-echo, resound; to call repeatedly; to give back the sound of (something), re-echo or resound (something)”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + sonō (“to make a noise, resound, sound; to sound (something); to speak or utter (something); to call, cry out; to celebrate; to extol, praise; to sing”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂- (“to sound”)). * From re- (prefix meaning ‘again, anew’) + sound (“to produce a sound”). Cognates * Catalan ressonar * Italian resonare (obsolete), risonare * Old Occitan resonar * Portuguese ressoar, ressonar, resonar (obsolete) * Spanish resonar

Etymology 2

From Late Middle English resoun, reson (“echoing or reverberating sound; clangour, din, noise”), from Old French reson, and from its etymon Latin resonus (“echoing, resounding”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + sonus (“sound; noise; pitch; speech; (figuratively) character, style, tone; tongue, voice”) (from sonō (verb) (see further at etymology 1) + -us (suffix forming nouns)). * (Received Pronunciation) IPA⁽ᵏᵉʸ⁾: /ɹɪˈsaʊnd/, /-ˈzaʊnd/ * Audio (Received Pronunciation): (file) Audio: (file) * (General American) IPA⁽ᵏᵉʸ⁾: /ɹəˈsaʊnd/, /ɹi-/, /-ˈzaʊnd/ * Audio (General American): (file) Audio: (file) * Rhymes: -aʊnd * Hyphenation: re‧sound

Etymology 3

From re- (prefix meaning ‘again, anew’) + sound (“to produce a sound”).

More for "resound"

Synonyms

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