Synonyms of sputtering

sputtering 1 of 2

adjective

as in muttering

Related Words

• muttering
• faltering
• stumbling
• stuttering
• mumbling
• halting
• stammering
• maundering
• hesitant
• inarticulate
• unvocal
• voiceless
• ineloquent
• mute
• speechless
• tongueless
• tongue-tied

Dissimilar Words

• articulate
• eloquent
• fluent
• voluble
• verbal
• vocal
• glib
• facile
• expressive
• well-spoken
• silver-tongued
• outspoken
• smooth-tongued

sputtering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of sputter

as in chattering

to speak rapidly, inarticulately, and usually unintelligibly

she was so shocked that, for a moment, all she could do was sputter

Synonyms & Similar Words

• chattering
• shouting
• drooling
• chatting
• rattling
• muttering
• gibbering
• jabbering
• babbling
• stuttering
• prattling
• gabbling
• shrieking
• driveling
• mumbling
• screeching
• bumbling
• blathering
• stammering
• pattering
• trolling
• yakking
• murmuring
• blithering
• gabbing
• blabbering
• prating
• bleating
• jawing
• mouthing
• jangling
• chuntering
• smattering
• running on
• tittle-tattling
• maundering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• articulating
• pronouncing
• enunciating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sputtering

Adjective

Trump spoke now not only to distract from his sputtering Iran war and its effects on the economy, but also because his attempts to concretely interfere with the 2026 election thus far have almost all failed. — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026

In one year, the Eagles’ offense went from a pick-your-poison attack that helped Philadelphia win the Super Bowl to a sputtering three-and-out machine. — Mike Jones, New York Times, 14 July 2026

This one required extra innings and undid a late surge by their sputtering offense. — Matt Kawahara, Houston Chronicle, 19 Apr. 2026

Voters first approved the tax in 2020 but lowered it in 2024 amid San Francisco’s sputtering economic recovery. — Joe Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Apr. 2026

In 2023, Authentic put the SI name on Lunatix, a sputtering ticket marketplace. — Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026

And, yet, at the same time football was sputtering, something else was building. — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2026

Drivers reported stalling, sputtering and newly illuminated check engine lights shortly after refueling their vehicles. — Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 6 Mar. 2026

Other factors from rising natural gas prices to the explosion of data centers across the country are also responsible for breathing life back into the sputtering coal industry. — Simmone Shah, Time, 3 Mar. 2026

Verb

With the Red Sox sputtering in last place in the AL East, the organization has bigger problems than Contreras. — Steve Buckley, New York Times, 2 July 2026

Wrangling my emotions became the difference between sputtering to a halt and moving forward. — Aytekin Tank, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026

Their side hustle is sputtering toward some sort of finish line, the Saudi’s Public Investment Fund having pulled the cashflow that made LIV so appealing in the first place. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 May 2026

So, the Dodgers’ offense has been sputtering as of late. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2026

With the majority of their big-league starting lineup competing in the World Baseball Classic, the offense is sputtering big-time. — Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 6 Mar. 2026

After some false starts, a windfall came when David Geffen, the longtime contemporary art collector, made his historic pledge in 2017, injecting some excitement into a campaign that had been sputtering. — Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 6 Mar. 2026

But what could have been a clever commentary on family dysfunction, success and the American way falls flat, only occasionally sputtering to life. — Cary Darling, Houston Chronicle, 18 Feb. 2026

When the time came for Alan Cumming to cease deliberations, Michael was reduced to sputtering epithets in random sequences. — Joe Reid, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2026