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resonance

 - 5 dictionary results

res⋅o⋅nance

  [rez-uh-nuhns]
Use resonance in a Sentence
–noun
1. the state or quality of being resonant.
2. the prolongation of sound by reflection; reverberation.
3. Phonetics.
a. amplification of the range of audibility of any source of speech sounds, esp. of phonation, by various couplings of the cavities of the mouth, nose, sinuses, larynx, pharynx, and upper thorax, and, to some extent, by the skeletal structure of the head and upper chest.
b. the distribution of amplitudes among interrelated cavities in the head, chest, and throat that are characteristic for a particular speech sound and relatively independent of variations in pitch.
4. Physics.
a. the state of a system in which an abnormally large vibration is produced in response to an external stimulus, occurring when the frequency of the stimulus is the same, or nearly the same, as the natural vibration frequency of the system.
b. the vibration produced in such a state.
c. a hadron with a very short lifetime, of the order of 10− 2 3 sec.
5. Electricity. that condition of a circuit with respect to a given frequency or the like in which the net reactance is zero and the current flow a maximum.
6. Also called mesomerism. Chemistry. the condition exhibited by a molecule when the actual arrangement of its valence electrons is intermediate between two or more arrangements having nearly the same energy, and the positions of the atomic nuclei are identical.
7. Medicine/Medical. (in percussing for diagnostic purposes) a sound produced when air is present.
Origin:
1485–95; < MF < L resonantia echo, equiv. to reson(āre) to resound + -antia -ance
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To resonance
res·o·nance   (rěz'ə-nəns)   
n.  

  1. The quality or condition of being resonant: words that had resonance throughout his life.

  2. Richness or significance, especially in evoking an association or strong emotion: "It is home and family that give resonance . . . to life" (George Gilder). "Israel, gateway to Mecca, is of course a land of religious resonance and geopolitical significance" (James Wolcott).

  3. Physics The increase in amplitude of oscillation of an electric or mechanical system exposed to a periodic force whose frequency is equal or very close to the natural undamped frequency of the system.

  4. Physics A subatomic particle lasting too short a time to be observed directly. The existence of such particles is usually inferred from a peak in the energy distribution of its decay products.

  5. Acoustics Intensification and prolongation of sound, especially of a musical tone, produced by sympathetic vibration.

  6. Linguistics Intensification of vocal tones during articulation, as by the air cavities of the mouth and nasal passages.

  7. Medicine The sound produced by diagnostic percussion of the normal chest.

  8. Chemistry The property of a compound having simultaneously the characteristics of two or more structural forms that differ only in the distribution of electrons. Such compounds are highly stable and cannot be properly represented by a single structural formula.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

resonance 
1491, from M.Fr. resonance (15c.), from L. resonantia (echo) "echo," from resonare (see resound). Resonate is first recorded 1873, from L. resonatum, pp. of resonare.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: res·o·nance
Pronunciation: 'rez-&n-&n(t)s, 'rez-n&n(t)s
Function: noun
1 : a quality imparted tovoiced sounds by vibration in anatomical resonating chambers or cavities (as the mouth or the nasal cavity)
2 : the sound elicited on percussion of the chest
3 : the conceptual alternation of a chemical species (as a molecule or ion) between two or more equivalent allowed structural representations differing only in the placement of electrons thataids in understanding the actual state of the species as an amalgamation of its possible structures and the usually higher-than-expected stability of the species
4 a : theenhancement of an atomic, nuclear, or particle reaction or a scattering event by excitation of internal motion in the system b : MAGNETIC RESONANCE —see ELECTRON SPINRESONANCE
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

resonance res·o·nance (rěz'ə-nəns)
n.

  1. The sound produced by diagnostic percussion of the normal chest.

  2. Intensification of vocal tones during articulation, as by the air cavities of the mouth and nasal passages.

  3. Intensification and prolongation of sound produced by sympathetic vibration.

  4. The property of a compound having simultaneously the characteristics of two or more structural forms that differ only in the distribution of electrons.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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