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The letter sequence "v-e-r-b" in reverberate might make you think at first of such word-related brethren as proverb, verbal, and verbose, all of which derive from the Latin noun verbum, meaning "word." In fact, reverberate comes from a much different source: the Latin verb verberare, meaning "to whip, beat, or lash," which is related to the noun verber, meaning "rod." Reverberate entered the English language in the 15th century, and one of its early meanings was "to beat, drive, or cast back." By the early 1600s, it began to appear in contexts associated with sound that repeats or returns the way an echo does.
Examples of reverberate in a Sentence
Clayton Davis, Variety, 23 Oct. 2025
Mamdani’s candidacy has reverberated nationally and has significant implications for the future of progressive policy and national politics.
—Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
How the state’s Democrats decide between Mills and a younger, potentially feistier upstart is likely to reverberate far beyond Maine’s borders.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 21 Oct. 2025
This is the kind of result that reverberates up and down the Premier League.
—Carl Anka, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reverberate
Cite this Entry
“Reverberate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reverberate. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
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