SPUTTER Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

sputter

verb

ˈspə-tər

Definition of sputter

as in to drool

to speak rapidly, inarticulately, and usually unintelligibly she was so shocked that, for a moment, all she could do was sputter

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of sputter By the time mid-August rolls around, the machinery of travel starts to sputter. — Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2026 Wankel turned a valve, and billion-year-old brine sputtered out of one of the pipes. — James Dinneen, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2026 Some analysts attributed the drop-off to sputtering demand as investors moved past the company's splashy listing and took a closer look at its bottom line. — Max Zahn, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026 Oil prices fell Monday even as diplomatic efforts to end the US-Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz sputtered. — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 3 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sputter

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sputter

Verb

Beyond the seating area is the hotel shop with a vibrant range of pottery to drool over.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Aug. 2026
Who had broken a wrist on the back-yard flagstones, drooled cherry medicine down her sleeping face on the car ride back from the hospital.

— Emma Cline, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of drool

Verb

Video showed locals draped in Spanish flags, shouting anti-migrant slogans, and singing Spanish songs, torching the camp and throwing migrants’ belongings in the Mediterranean or into bonfires.

— Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 28 Aug. 2026
Being Chicago’s hometown airline — and shouting about it a lot — affords United Airlines certain privileges.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of shout

Verb

When John finally reunites with Hal (who charges the ring against the lantern while quickly muttering his oath), the frustrated protégé immediately confronts his teacher with all the suspicions he was meant to keep secret.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026
That’s when Way mutters the p-word — under his breath for plausible deniability, but certainly still with the intention of being heard, smirking at the sound of my laughter.

— Selome Hailu, Variety, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of mutter

Verb

But when the disheveled, withdrawn ex-friend shows up in the locker room gibbering about an evil spirit, Sam is mortified, impulsively knocking to the ground the grungy-looking Mason jar that Tamira has been carrying around.

— Dennis Harvey, Variety, 18 Sep. 2023
For a while, police interest bent toward a Phud who had been warned he might be eliminated from the program, who had seemed almost exultant about the fire and gibbered gleefully about the media spotlight.

— New York Times, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2018

Definition of gibber

Verb

Cage-rattling instead of bridge-building from a coach with no track record in the pros.

— Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Now a new report on the fallout from the investigation into that flyover is rattling the Defense Department and could lead to further delay in replacing the Army leader ousted for refusing to kill the probe.

— Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of rattle

Verb

During his playing days and after, John made an effort to embrace nonprofit organizations that helped young children who stutter.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 19 Aug. 2026
Strikes between the United States and Iran have been ongoing after a stuttering ceasefire.

— Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 31 July 2026

Definition of stutter

Browse Nearby Words

sputa

sputter

sputtered

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“Sputter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sputter. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of sputter

verb

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