as in muttering
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in drooling
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sputtering
Michael Kugelman, NPR, 21 Dec. 2024
Those reports have unnerved British officials, who fear the tariffs could throttle the country’s already sputtering economic growth.
—Mark Landler, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2024
Kushner heaps flashback upon flashback; minor characters flare promisingly to life—a creepy uncle of Lucien’s, a disgruntled ex-Moulinard—before sputtering out, victims of their own inconsequence.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
The Chinese economy is sputtering and the government is working on a stimulus package to boost the economy.
—Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024
With the Mets offense still sputtering and the bullpen taxed, Dodgers phenom Ohtani added insult to injury in the eighth inning.
—Jacob Lev, CNN, 17 Oct. 2024
The fact that the Chargers have kept games close despite their sputtering offense is a testament to the defensive makeover under first-year coordinator Jesse Minter.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2024
Last week, the Chinese government announced several broad measures to boost its economy, which has been sputtering and looks unlikely to meet its government’s annual growth target.
—Megan Poinski, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024
Verb
But if the reform process lags and if Bangladesh's sputtering economy doesn't improve, the public's patience could start to wear thin for an administration that for now enjoys ample support.
—Michael Kugelman, NPR, 21 Dec. 2024
Those reports have unnerved British officials, who fear the tariffs could throttle the country’s already sputtering economic growth.
—Mark Landler, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2024
Kushner heaps flashback upon flashback; minor characters flare promisingly to life—a creepy uncle of Lucien’s, a disgruntled ex-Moulinard—before sputtering out, victims of their own inconsequence.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
The Chinese economy is sputtering and the government is working on a stimulus package to boost the economy.
—Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024
With the Mets offense still sputtering and the bullpen taxed, Dodgers phenom Ohtani added insult to injury in the eighth inning.
—Jacob Lev, CNN, 17 Oct. 2024
The fact that the Chargers have kept games close despite their sputtering offense is a testament to the defensive makeover under first-year coordinator Jesse Minter.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2024
Last week, the Chinese government announced several broad measures to boost its economy, which has been sputtering and looks unlikely to meet its government’s annual growth target.
—Megan Poinski, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sputtering
Verb
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After chatting to a voice LLM chatbot like ChatGPT, going back to trying to have a conversational user experience with Alexa (or Siri, or whoever) is frustrating.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
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At the time, Faustino was chatting with PEOPLE at the 30th annual Race to Erase MS gala and addressed why his former costar was not in attendance at the event.—
Raven Brunner,
People.com,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The reformers worried that change was too halting, and that the Ottomans were falling behind the industrializing European nations.—
Charlie Tyson,
The New Yorker,
15 Mar. 2025
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The need to pressure-wash the entire interior would become but a minor inconvenience in a halting seven-year project that was filled with challenges before culminating in an elegantly modern interpretation of a historic property.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
23 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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This demonstrates how even those driving innovation are often hesitant to embrace its full implications.—
Sabeer Nelliparamban,
Forbes.com,
25 Apr. 2025
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Turner announced his new relationship on an April 2025 podcast episode Turner was initially hesitant to share the identity of his new girlfriend, but began talking about his new relationship in April 2025.—
Caroline Blair,
People.com,
25 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sputtering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sputtering. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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