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Literary notes about reverberant (AI summary)

The word "reverberant" is frequently employed to evoke a sense of sound that transcends its immediate source, creating echoes that enrich the atmosphere and emotion of a scene. It describes voices that seem to vibrate with depth and intensity, as when a character’s tone carries a weight of assurance or dread [1] or when laughter echoes eerily over distant hills [2]. It is not confined to the human voice alone; it also portrays the overwhelming presence of natural and manufactured sounds—from the resounding peal of thunder or clanging bells that roll across landscapes [3], [4] to the profound, lingering effects of acoustic space that mirror internal states of grief or awe [5], [6]. This versatile adjective, by linking physical sound with metaphorical impact, deepens the reader's immersion in both the environment and the narrative’s emotional landscape [7], [8].
  1. “It’s the window I’m afraid of,” said my uncle, in the deep, reverberant voice which contrasted oddly with his plump little figure.
    — from Round the Fire Stories by Arthur Conan Doyle
  2. She looked at him an instant so, then laughed—an odd, mirthless, reverberant laugh, that echoed on the hills above.
    — from Hope Hathaway: A Story of Western Ranch Life by Frances Parker
  3. First came a sheeted flash of the blinding lightning, and after that closely followed a deep-throated reverberant peal of thunder.
    — from Ulric the Jarl: A Story of the Penitent Thief by William O. Stoddard
  4. And then the chime rang, with a metallic, sharp click and then a long and reverberant clanging.
    — from Gunman's Reckoning by Max Brand
  5. Suddenly there rose from the Mission Compound, reverberant in the still air of dawn, those stately cadences, which are the chant of a world’s grief.
    — from The Vermilion Pencil: A Romance of China by Homer Lea
  6. At moments it was as if the veils of being shook, and in their commotion all her heights and depths were ringing, reverberant to the indivisible joy.
    — from The Creators: A Comedy by May Sinclair
  7. Lo! toppling suddenly, the tower went o'er, And shook the wide air with reverberant roar.
    — from The Æneid of Virgil, Translated into English Verse by Virgil
  8. And she did laugh loudly, with a clear, sweet, reverberant ring that echoed through the little valley.
    — from Hope Hathaway: A Story of Western Ranch Life by Frances Parker

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