Agency Dictionary
reverberate
verbPronunciation: /rɪˈvɜːrbəreɪt/
In Portuguese: repercutir
Arts, Music & MediaWhat does “reverberate” mean?
To echo repeatedly through space, or to continue having widespread ripple effects over time.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin reverberatus, the past participle of reverberare, meaning to strike back, reflect, or repel, from re- and verberare (to beat, to lash), from verber (a rod or whip). In English it came to be used of sound and light thrown back from surfaces and was later extended to lasting or widespread effects.
Usage note
Reverberate is used both literally, of sound echoing in a space, and figuratively, of events whose effects persist and spread across time.
Synonyms
- echo
- resound
- resonate
Word family
- reverberation
- reverberant
- reverberatory
Usage examples
A slide from the AR6 Synthesis Report attached in Metanews.1 already says it all: “Our choices will reverberate for hundreds, even thousands of years.”
Source editions
Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.
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