stammering 1 of 2

adjective

as in muttering

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stammering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of stammer
as in stuttering
to speak with many pauses and repetitions He stammers when he's nervous.

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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 stammering
Adjective
Even characters like Lauren Domingue — sweet, stammering, fearful Lauren, who is not boring, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2025 The stammering old man is trying to be a Tamburlaine. — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
Probst glides through his dialogue for the day in a single take, without stopping or even stammering. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stammering
  1. stuttering
  2. mumbling
  3. sputtering
  4. faltering
  5. hesitant
  6. halting
  7. inarticulate
Adjective
  • Windows Vista and its early WDDM woes had reduced my previously badass main PC with two Nvidia 7900GT cards in SLI to a stuttering BSOD-spitting mess, and the future of Microsoft OSes looked bleak—Windows 7 wouldn’t be along to change the situation for years.
    — Lee Hutchinson, ArsTechnica, 6 May 2026
Definition of stuttering
Verb
  • Later that day, Rowley was drenched in sweat, rocking back and forth and mumbling incoherently as the poison – later identified as Novichok, a Russian nerve agent – took hold of him, too.
    — Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
  • Next up, maybe lawmakers can do something about overly soft, mumbling dialogue preceded by deafening explosions.
    — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 25 June 2026
Definition of mumbling
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
Definition of sputtering
Adjective
  • In 2019 and again in 2020, the company launched a pair of spacecraft that latched onto faltering communication satellites and steered them, providing extra years of life.
    — Marcia Dunn, Fortune, 22 July 2026
  • Dodgers right-hander Edgardo Henriquez was on the mound as their third pitcher in a bullpen game, and his command was faltering, to the tune of back-to-back walks and a wild pitch.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026
Definition of faltering
Adjective
  • Its aging customer base had stopped eating out or died during the pandemic, and older customers were still hesitant to go back.
    — Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Especially in the trucking industry, where the average truck driver is 47 years old, workers may be hesitant toward AI.
    — Toni Pisano, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Definition of hesitant
Adjective
  • Onstage, Saint Laurent gives a short thank-you speech in halting English.
    — Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2026
  • The legislation led to the formation of local agencies that are responsible for halting chronic declines in groundwater levels, including by imposing pumping limits and fees.
    — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2026
Definition of halting
Adjective
  • Just as between them William James and Michael Oakeshott told us that there is no such thing as unmediated experience, so, surely, there is no such thing as inarticulate thought.
    — Richard Lansdown, The New York Review of Books, 25 June 2026
  • Simpson, butched up and closed off and vibrating with inarticulate pain, is superb in the part, and Jimenez’s rigid shoulders and frozen face are wrenching.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 20 May 2026
Definition of inarticulate

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Cite this Entry

“Stammering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stammering. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on stammering

Nglish: Translation of stammering for Spanish Speakers

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