I. -z( ə )nənt adjective
Etymology: Latin resonant-, resonans, present participle of resonare to resound — more at resound
1. : continuing or capable of continuing to sound : able to resound : echoing back
a harsh resonant boom
2.
a. : capable of inducing resonance in sound : tending to reinforce or cause prolongation of sound
violins of fine resonant wood
b. : relating to or exhibiting resonance : adjusted so as to respond to vibrations of a given frequency
3.
a. : intensified and enriched by or as if by resonance : having a resounding quality
a resonant voice
the resonant beauty of his prose
b. : marked by or suggestive of the loud, oratorical, or grandiloquent
a new and more resonant sort of headling, the streamer — H.G.Wells
c. of colors : producing mutual enhancement by contrast
richer impasto and more resonant color — National Gallery of Art
4. : characterized by phonetic resonance : being a phonetic resonant
Synonyms:
resounding , ringing , vibrant , sonorous , orotund : resonant may indicate the full effect of the possibilities of vibration or the ready reactive effect of similar stimuli
the beating small drums — a hollow resonant sound — C.B.Nordhoff & J.N.Hall
the connotative words … have a quality and tone which is resonant in combination as though a tuning fork had been struck — R.L.Cook
It may suggest clear and lasting carrying power and consequent force, intensity, or effect
it was resonant with feeling and through long centuries gave voice to emotions — H.O.Taylor
resounding adds the notion of echoing, reechoing, or reverberating as vibrations are thrown back
the sound of a great underground river, flowing through a resounding cavern — Willa Cather
Through the suggestion of repetition to make clear and unequivocal, it may connote the certain, positive, unreserved, and convincing
the queen of Egypt was not ill-pleased by the Parthian failure, since a resounding success would have made Antony independent of her — John Buchan
ringing may be associated with bell-like sounds, ample and full, made without external or contrived vibrating devices
a perfect ecstasy of song — clear, ringing, copious — John Burroughs
Used of speech or composition, it connotes the clear, vigorous, and fervent
his ringing appeal for independence … was followed in December by another shrill cry to the people, rallying them to the patriot side — C.A. & Mary Beard
vibrant calls attention to attendant vibrations and overtones in actualizing sound, but, unlike the preceding words, does not imply their reflection, continuation, or amplification
the speaker paused a moment, his low vibrant tones faltering into silence — Israel Zangwill
a deep strong voice, more musical than any merely human voice, richer, warmer, more vibrant with love and yearning and compassion — Aldous Huxley
In other uses it connotes keen sensitivity, pleasing or invigorating awareness or aliveness
Latin verses that were freed from the dead rules of quantity, and were already vibrant with a vital feeling for accent and rhyme — H.O.Taylor
there was something vibrant and clean about the sense of conviction and affirmation that was rising within us as the challenge crystallized — Norman Cousins
sonorous is likely to suggest fullness or loudness of sound without much suggestion of vibration or timbre
the deep, sonorous voice of the red-bearded Duke, which boomed out like a dinner gong — A. Conan Doyle
Applied to speeches and writing it suggests the imposing or high-flown
here all day long rolled forth, in sonorous Latin, the interminable periods of episcopal oratory — Lytton Strachey
a sonorous declaimer … he went out of his way to invite majestic effects — V.L.Parrington
orotund , etymologically suggesting maximum opening of the mouth, likewise connotes full sound
to be sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle, yet in a slower, more orotund fashion — Vachel Lindsay
Applied to style of composition or delivery it may indicate the pompous or bombastic
the phrase needs be fitly orotund — J.B.Cabell & A.J.Hanna
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : a sound characterized by resonance : a resonant sound
b. phonetics : a speech sound (as a vowel, semivowel, nasal, lateral, or any of certain varieties of r) that is articulated without occlusion or friction — compare obstruent
2. : a resonant body