WORD OF THE YEAR - RESONATE

Resonate is a scientific term also used in engineering with a number of definitions (see below).  Somehow it has come to enter our language in a political sense, e.g. His speeches resonate with the public.  You hear it in that context all the time.  I suppose you could say that Donald Trump's speaking at his rallies gets the audience vibrating (which is what resonate would mean).  But how about the word "appeal?"  Donald Trumps gatherings appeals to his audience?  Too  simple?

The misuse of the word resonate comes on top of many other miss-usages of words in our modern language.*  For example, people no longer check and then double check, but now they start with" I'll double check that" by which they do not mean they will check twice but only once.  People just skip the checking part.  Plain language is not enough anymore.


Definition of" resonance" in Merriam Webster:**

1. a : the quality or state of being resonant

b (1) : a vibration of large amplitude in a mechanical or electrical system caused by a relatively small periodic stimulus of the same or nearly the same period as the natural vibration period of the system

(2) : the state of adjustment that produces resonance in a mechanical or electrical system

2 a : the intensification and enriching of a musical tone by supplementary vibration

b : a quality imparted to voiced sounds by vibration in anatomical resonating chambers or cavities (such as the mouth or the nasal cavity)

c : a quality of richness or variety

d : a quality of evoking response

• how much resonance the scandal seems to be having
• —U.S. News & World Report

3 : the sound elicited on percussion of the chest

4 : the conceptual alternation of a chemical species (such as a molecule or ion) between two or more equivalent allowed structural representations differing only in the placement of electrons that aids 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

5 a : the enhancement of an atomic, nuclear, or particle reaction or a scattering event by excitation of internal motion in the system

b : magnetic resonance

6: an extremely short-lived elementary particle

7 : a synchronous gravitational relationship of two celestial bodies (such as moons) that orbit a third (such as a planet) which can be expressed as a simple ratio of their orbital periods

 
* http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/search?q=disappearing+words 
** https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resonance