What does redounded mean?
Redounded is the past tense of redound, a formal or literary verb meaning “to sound again” or “to echo.” It can describe a sound physically reverberating through a place, as when a voice, alarm, or announcement echoes in a hall. More broadly, it may indicate that a reputation, achievement, or piece of news spreads widely and becomes widely known, as in a phrase such as “the victory redounded throughout the country.” The word belongs to a limited modern vocabulary: native speakers will often understand it, but it sounds unusual in ordinary conversation and is more likely to appear in literary, historical, or elevated prose. Its formation is transparent, combining the prefix re-, meaning “again,” withound, meaning “to sound,” with the ordinary past-tense ending -ed. The related and more familiar verb resound can express similar ideas and remains in regular use today.
verb (past tense)The past tense of redound: to sound again or echo.
- To sound again; to echo or reverberate.
"Her victory redounded throughout the province."
"The acclaim redounded through the stadium."
"Her reputation redounded far beyond the company."
Redounded is the past tense of a rare verb that literally means “sounded again,” preserving an echo-like sense that now survives chiefly in formal writing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does redounded come from?
The word derives from the prefix re-, meaning “again,” and the verb sound, so its original sense is “to sound again.” The uncommon verb redound developed in English from this transparent combination and eventually acquired the conventional past-tense form redounded. Its echo or reverberation sense is related to the still-common verb resound, formed with the same prefix and sound root.
Related word forms
How redounded is actually used
This form is now rare and occurs mainly in formal, literary, or historical prose. The present-tense form “redound” is more readily recognized, although even it is uncommon in modern everyday English.
Easily confused with redounded
Redounded is the past tense of the rarer verb redound, whereas resound means to echo or be heard loudly and is still commonly used.
Redounded concerns sound echoing or being heard again, while rebounded describes something bouncing back or recovering.