reverberation

/ɹiˈvɜː(ɹ)bəɹeɪʃən/

//ɹiˈvɜː(ɹ)bəɹeɪʃən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"reverberation" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“reverberation” is uncommon English (frequency #58,316 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#58,316
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A violent oscillation or vibration.

Corpus desk

Index EN-reverberation · reverberation · English

reverberation · rank #58,316 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #58,316
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH returnable

Nearest frequency peer: returnable (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “reverberation”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “reverberation” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for reverberation
PropertyValue
Headwordreverberation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹiˈvɜː(ɹ)bəɹeɪʃən/
Letters13
Frequency rank#58,316
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “reverberation” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).reverberationfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “returnable” (#58,315), “ribosome” (#58,317), “Rioja” (#58,320). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “reverberation” is #58,316. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

reverberation is uncommon English at frequency #58,316 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɹiˈvɜː(ɹ)bəɹeɪʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for reverberation, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French reverberation, from Medieval Latin reverberatio. Morphologically reverberate + -ion. The correct English form is reverberation, spelled R-E-V-E-R-B-E-R-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A violent oscillation or vibration.
  2. 2
    An echo, or a series of overlapping echoes.
  3. 3
    The reflection of light or heat; a reflection in, or as though in, a mirror.
  4. 4
    An evolving series of effects resulting from a particular event; a repercussion.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how reverberation appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The discomfort caused by the bat's reverberation surprised Tommy.
  2. The reverberation that followed Marilyn's shout filled the cavern.

Etymology

From Old French reverberation, from Medieval Latin reverberatio. Morphologically reverberate + -ion.

This word in other languages

contrecoup(Français)Zurückschlagen(Deutsch)reverberação(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "reverberation"?
"reverberation" is spelled R-E-V-E-R-B-E-R-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹiˈvɜː(ɹ)bəɹeɪʃən/.
What does "reverberation" mean?
As a noun, "reverberation" means: A violent oscillation or vibration.
How do you pronounce "reverberation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "reverberation" is /ɹiˈvɜː(ɹ)bəɹeɪʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "reverberation"?
From Old French reverberation, from Medieval Latin reverberatio. Morphologically reverberate + -ion. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "reverberation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

serialization#58,353nitroglycerin#58,239transgressive#58,420intelligencer#58,109

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list