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].
- “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 - 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 - 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 - And then the chime rang, with a metallic, sharp click and then a long and reverberant clanging.
— from Gunman's Reckoning by Max Brand - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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