Retentir

Retentir is a French verb meaning to resound, to ring out, or to reverberate. It describes sounds that are loud, clear, and lasting, such as bells, thunder, or voices filling a space. The action is typically intransitive, applied to the source of the sound rather than to an object.

In usage, retentir often appears in descriptive or literary contexts. Common phrases include la cloche qui retentit (the bell that rings out) or le cri qui retentit dans la salle (the cry that resounds in the room). The verb can be found in various tenses and moods, and in past tense forms such as la cloche a retenti (the bell has sounded). The past participle retenti is used with auxiliary avoir in compound tenses.

Retentir also yields the noun retentissement, which denotes the broader resonance or impact of a sound, event, or action. This can be physical, as in the retentissement d’un coup de tonnerre, or metaphorical, such as un retentissement médiatique describing wide influence or publicity.

Etymology traces the verb to Old French retentir, with the sense of producing a continuing or repeated sound. In modern French, retentir remains a standard term, though its use can be more literary or formal compared to synonyms like résonner.

Overall, retentir conveys a strong, audible effect that fills a space or lingers in memory, whether describing natural phenomena, human voices, or the consequences of events.