ricocheted
Deflected upon impact
Ricocheted is the past tense of ricochet—to bounce or skip off a surface at an angle.
Bullets ricochet off walls, stones ricochet across water.
The word extends to anything that deflects unpredictably: The rumor ricocheted through the office.
Also spelled ricochetted, though the single-t form dominates in American English.
Returned after hitting surface
- deflectedCaused to veer off
- reboundedReturned after impact
- caromedStruck and deflected
- glancedLooked momentarily
skipped · pinballed · angled · trajectory · projectile · bullet · stray · fragment
Lacking regularity or consistency
- randomOccurring without pattern
- chaoticTotally without arrangement
- uncontrolledLacking any regulation
- wildNot domesticated or controlled
haphazard · scattered · zigzag · careening · unpredictable · dangerous · stray · misdirected
Indirect result of action
- consequenceResult of an action
- reverberatedReflected sound repeatedly
- rippledMoved in undulations
- cascadedFell in successive stages
spiraled · snowballed · aftermath · fallout · backlash · echo · spread · effect
bounced
Returned after hitting surface
glanced · skipped · pinballed · angled · trajectory · projectile · bullet · stray · fragment · shrapnel
erratic
Lacking regularity or consistency
- randomOccurring without pattern
- chaoticTotally without arrangement
- uncontrolledLacking any regulation
wild · haphazard · scattered · zigzag · careening · unpredictable · dangerous · stray · misdirected · wayward
repercussion
Indirect result of action
- consequenceResult of an action
- reverberatedReflected sound repeatedly
- rippledMoved in undulations
cascaded · spiraled · snowballed · aftermath · fallout · backlash · echo · spread · effect · domino