1
as in grimacing
to distort one's face
when her mother told her to mind, the little girl mouthed insolently and rolled her eyes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in muttering
to speak softly and unclearly
the prompter mouthed the forgotten words under his breath
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mouthing
Verb
-
After grimacing, Daniels popped up and headed to the bench, where he was greeted by multiple athletic trainers and the team doctor.—
Nicki Jhabvala,
New York Times,
8 Dec. 2025 -
Nearby, a large man with a wad of cash was grimacing into a digital roulette machine.—
Adam Iscoe,
New Yorker,
24 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The volume has gone up again since Ruben Amorim’s recent departure, muttering darkly about Gary Neville’s outside influence in particular.—
Daniel Taylor,
New York Times,
17 Jan. 2026
-
The older lady who was muttering to herself in casting is there.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Regardless of how the strike turns out, Laurel Lucia, deputy executive director for the Labor Center at UC Berkeley, said the health care industry in California is staring at considerable changes to its business landscape.—
Pat Maio,
Oc Register,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Alessandro Michele, at Valentino, was also thinking of how to collide reality and fantasy, staging his collection in nooks inspired by the kaiser panorama, an early 20th century precursor to cinema, in which viewers sat around a circle, staring into a contraption displaying slides.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Mustafa said as the man trotted down the stairs, mumbling something—a prayer, a curse.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Atlanta police officers responding to the scene found Leon sitting on the ground in handcuffs, acting belligerently and attempting to stand while mumbling.—
CBS News Atlanta Digital Team,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Mouthing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mouthing. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
