Reverberate

/ɹɪˈvɜːbəˌɹeɪt/ adj, verb

adj, verb ·Common ·High school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: To cause (a sound) to be (repeatedly) bounced against one or more surfaces; to re-echo.
  • Grammar: reverberate is listed as adj, verb.
  • Nearest alternatives: echo, resound, acknowledge, answer.
  • Useful contrasts: absorb, attenuate, dampen.
  • Usage evidence: The loud sounds of sawing, drilling and scraping reverberate around the room.

How to use "reverberate"

  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 "reverberate" 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 "reverberate" 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 "reverberate" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "reverberate" 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 "reverberate" is acting as adj, 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.

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Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "reverberate", 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

Verb
  1. 1
    To cause (a sound) to be (repeatedly) bounced against one or more surfaces; to re-echo. transitive

    "[N]o man is the Lord of any thing: / Though in and of him there be much conſiſting, / Till he communicate his parts to others, / Nor doth hee of himſelfe knovv them for aught: / Till he behold them formed in the applauſe. / VVhere th'are extended: vvho like an arch reuerb'rate / The voice againe or like a gate of ſteele: / Fronting the Sunne, receiues and renders back / His figure and his heate."

  2. 2
    treat, process, heat, melt, or refine in a reverberatory furnace wordnet
  3. 3
    Followed by on (to): to deflect or divert (flames, heat, etc.) on to something. transitive

    "Flame is reverberated in a furnace."

  4. 4
    spring back; spring away from an impact wordnet
  5. 5
    To heat (something) by deflecting flames on to, or passing flames over, it. archaic, transitive

    "Svb[tle]. […] I ſent you of his fæces there, calcin'd. / Out of that calx, I'ha'vvonne the ſalt of Mercurie. / Mam[mon]. By pouring on your rectefied vvater? / Svb. Yes, and reuerberating in Athanor."

Show 22 more definitions
  1. 6
    to throw or bend back (from a surface) wordnet
  2. 7
    To repeatedly reflect (heat, light, or other radiation). transitive

    "Fifteen Moſques profeſſe their bravery, […] the tops dignified by many double guilded creſcents or ſpires vvhich gallantly reverberate Apollo’s yellovv flames [sunbeams] in a rich and delightfull ſplendor."

  3. 8
    be reflected as heat, sound, or light or shock waves wordnet
  4. 9
    To drive, force, or push (someone or something) back; to repel, to repulse. obsolete, transitive

    "This banke is ſo neceſſary a defence for the Citie, that it ſerueth in ſteed of a ſtrong vvall to repulſe and reuerberate the violence of the furious vvaues of the Sea."

  5. 10
    ring or echo with sound wordnet
  6. 11
    To send (something) back from where it came. obsolete, transitive
  7. 12
    have a long or continuing effect wordnet
  8. 13
    Of light or sound: to fall on or hit (a surface or other thing); also, to fill or spread throughout (a space or other thing). obsolete, transitive

    "Hovv ſtill your voice vvith prudent diſcipline / My Prentize ear doth oft reverberate; […]"

  9. 14
    To beat or hit (something) repeatedly. obsolete, rare, transitive
  10. 15
    Of sound: to (repeatedly) bounce against one or more surfaces; to echo or re-echo, to resound. intransitive

    "[There were] innumerable Rills and Brooks of VVater falling from the Clifts, making a barbarous and unpleaſant Sound; and that Sound eccho'd and reverberated from innumerable Cavities and Hollovvs among the Rocks, […]"

  11. 16
    Chiefly followed by to or with: of a place or thing: to ring or vibrate with many echoing sounds; to re-echo, to resound. intransitive

    "This Revievv is in the firſt place entituled, An Eccho from the Sixth Trumpet; becauſe, it alluſively reverberateth, and Ecchoes, as it vvere, to vvhat vvas predicted ſhould come to paſs betvveen the ſounding of the Sixth and Seventh Trumpet [referred to in the Book of Revelation.]"

  12. 17
    Often followed by from: of heat or (less commonly) light: to be (repeatedly) reflected. intransitive
  13. 18
    Of information, news, etc.: to be spread widely through repetition. figuratively, intransitive

    "They vvait till ſomething nevv comes out from others, examine its merits, and reject it, or make it reverberate throughout the reſt of Europe."

  14. 19
    Of a thing: to have lasting and often significant effects. figuratively, intransitive

    "The shock—the shout—the groan of war— / Reverberate along that vale, / More suited to the shepherd's tale: […]"

  15. 20
    Of a thing: to be heated by having flames, hot gases, etc., deflected or passed over it. intransitive, rare
  16. 21
    To deflect or divert flames, hot gases, etc., on or into something. intransitive, obsolete
  17. 22
    To shine on something, especially with reflected light. intransitive, obsolete

    "[Y]ou ſeem'd to reverberate upon me vvith the beams of the Sun, vvhich you knovv hath ſuch a povverful influence, and indeed too great a ſtroke in this Country: […]"

  18. 23
    Of a thing: to (repeatedly) bounce against one or more surfaces, especially with a sound; to rebound, to recoil. intransitive, obsolete

    "A stone dropped into one of them [a chasm] reverberated against the sides for apparently a very great depth, and, by its sound, indicated the same kind of substance with the surface, as long as the strokes could be heard."

  19. 24
    Followed by on or upon, or to: of a thing: to return and affect a person, their feelings, etc.; to recoil. intransitive, obsolete

    "[S]he made all that one could tell her, all that one could describe, all that one could quote from a foreign author, reverberate, as it were, à plusieurs reprises [repeatedly], to one's own feelings, by the manifest impression it made upon hers."

  20. 25
    Followed by in and a reflexive pronoun: of a thing: to turn back on itself. intransitive, obsolete, rare

    "A beam of light shone into the interior of a mirrored sphere would reverberate in itself."

  21. 26
    Of a furnace, kiln, etc.: to heat up through the effect of flames, hot gases, etc., deflecting within it. intransitive, obsolete, rare
  22. 27
    To heat something by deflecting flames on to, or passing flames over, it. intransitive, obsolete
Adjective
  1. 1
    Synonym of reverberant (“that tends to reverberate (“(repeatedly) bounce against one or more surfaces”) or has reverberated”); re-echoed.

    "So vvith reuerberate ſhoutes our Globe ſhall ring, / The Muſicks cloſe being thus: God ſaue our King."

  2. 2
    Ringing or vibrating with many echoing sounds; re-echoing, resounding, reverberating. rare

    "Make me a vvillovv Cabine at your gate, / And call vpon my ſoule vvithin the houſe, / […] / Hallovv your name to the reuerberate hilles, / And make the babling Goſsip of the aire, / Cry out Oliuia: […]"

Synonyms

All synonyms
echoresoundacknowledgeansweranswer backbe reflected

Antonyms

absorbattenuatedampendie away

Example

"The loud sounds of sawing, drilling and scraping reverberate around the room."

Common questions

What does "reverberate" mean?

To cause (a sound) to be (repeatedly) bounced against one or more surfaces; to re-echo.

What is a synonym for "reverberate"?

Common synonyms include: echo, resound, acknowledge, answer, answer back, be reflected.

How do you use "reverberate" in a sentence?

The loud sounds of sawing, drilling and scraping reverberate around the room.

How do you pronounce "reverberate"?

Pronounced /ɹɪˈvɜːbəˌɹeɪt/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin reverberātus, perfect passive participle of reverberō (“to rebound; to reflect; to repel”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), whence Middle French reverberer (French réverbérer) and Middle English reverberen (“to send back”)), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) and verberō (“to beat; to lash, whip”) (from verber (“rod; lash, whip”) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)).

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin reverberātus, see Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more. etymology 2 sense 2 (“ringing or vibrating with many echoing sounds”) was popularized by its use in Twelfth Night (written c. 1601–1602; published 1623) by the English playwright William Shakespeare (1564–1616): see the quotation.

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Synonyms

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