Definition

1. Noun:
   • A full, deep, reverberating sound quality: The amplification and enrichment of sound, especially of the voice, produced by the vibration of air in the cavities of the head and throat.
   • A relationship of mutual understanding or emotional connection: A quality of evoking or suggesting images, memories, and emotions; a sense of shared feeling or significance.
   • Physics: The condition in which an object or system vibrates with maximum amplitude: This occurs when it is subjected to a periodic force whose frequency is equal or very close to the object's natural frequency.
   • Physics/Chemistry: A short-lived, excited state of a particle or system: In nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) or electron spin resonance (ESR), it refers to the absorption of electromagnetic radiation at a specific frequency.

Examples of Usage

• Sound Quality:
  • The singer's voice had a rich resonance that filled the concert hall.
  • The resonance of the cello in the small room was beautiful.
• Emotional Connection:
  • Her story about family had a deep resonance with the audience.
  • The historical event continues to have cultural resonance today.
• Physics (Vibration):
  • The bridge collapsed due to wind-induced resonance.
  • Tuning a radio involves finding the resonance frequency for a specific station.
• Physics/Chemistry (Particle State):
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a common medical technique.

Advanced Usage

• In a figurative sense: Used to describe ideas or themes that are profoundly meaningful or evoke a strong response.
  • The philosopher's ideas found resonance in the modern political movement.
• "Sympathetic resonance": A process where one vibrating object induces vibration in another object with the same natural frequency.
  • The tuning fork caused sympathetic resonance in the second fork placed nearby.

Variants and Related Words

• Resonate (verb): To produce or be filled with a deep, full, reverberating sound; to evoke a feeling of shared emotion or recognition.
  • The speaker's message resonated with the voters.
• Resonant (adjective): (Of a sound) deep, clear, and continuing to sound or ring; (of a room or space) tending to reinforce or prolong sounds.
  • He spoke in a resonant baritone.
  • The resonant chamber of the guitar.
• Resonator (noun): A device or object that exhibits resonance or enhances sound by resonance.
  • The body of a violin acts as a resonator.

Synonyms

• Reverberation: The prolongation of a sound by reflection or echoing.
• Sympathy (in the context of understanding): A feeling of fellowship or agreement.
• Amplification (in physics): The increase in the amplitude of vibration.
• Harmony: Agreement or concord; in music, a pleasing combination of sounds.

Related Phrases

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): A medical imaging technique based on nuclear magnetic resonance.
• Resonance Frequency: The specific frequency at which resonance occurs for a given system.
• Voice Resonance: The amplification and modification of voice sounds in the vocal tract.

Related Idioms

• "Strike a chord / Strike a resonant chord": To evoke a feeling of recognition or shared emotion. (Note: This idiom uses the related concept but not the exact word "resonance").
  • His speech about unity struck a chord with the nation.

Noun

1. the quality imparted to voiced speech sounds by the action of the resonating chambers of the throat and mouth and nasal cavities
2. a relationship of mutual understanding or trust and agreement between people
3. having the character of a loud deep sound; the quality of being resonant
4. a vibration of large amplitude produced by a relatively small vibration near the same frequency of vibration as the natural frequency of the resonating system
5. an excited state of a stable particle causing a sharp maximum in the probability of absorption of electromagnetic radiation