as in muttering
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as in stuttering
to speak with many pauses and repetitions
He stammers when he's nervous.
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Recent Examples of stammering
Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2025
The stammering old man is trying to be a Tamburlaine.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
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
Verb
-
Timbaland’s eerie, minimalist production — stuttering beat patterns, yawning silences between drum hits, synth riffs that bray and heave — was the ideal vehicle for Elliott’s slaloming, heavily syncopated raps.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
On a collaborative record where slurred Mandarin intersects with stuttering synths, the Chengdu rapper and his mentor interrogate the disconnect between social life and our internal worlds.—
James Gui,
Pitchfork,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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McKellen can make a terrific meal out of just a few grunts and groans, spending whole scenes mumbling about nothing in particular; meanwhile, Coel comes across as impenetrable, yet alluringly so.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
10 Apr. 2026
-
The van’s speakers played a high-volume mashup of construction sounds, Jordan Peterson lectures, Marine Corps drills, and mumbling voices.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Only the sputtering right engine remained to provide sporadic thrust and to power some flight controls.—
James Glanz,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
-
This one required extra innings and undid a late surge by their sputtering offense.—
Matt Kawahara,
Houston Chronicle,
19 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Far from faltering, Lip-Bu Tan, who became chief executive of Intel in March 2025, is flourishing.—
Kamal Ahmed,
Fortune,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Milan supporters must hope that happens before the end of their faltering campaign.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Few county shelters have kennels, and people sleeping outside are often hesitant to abandon their pets just to sleep in a bed for a few nights.—
Max Klaver,
Miami Herald,
6 May 2026
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Austria, a European Union member with a policy of military neutrality, was initially hesitant to take such action but has recently expelled more Russian diplomats.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 May 2026
Adjective
-
The judge in the case barred state officials from certifying the election, halting efforts to enact the new congressional map.—
Jack Birle,
The Washington Examiner,
28 Apr. 2026
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In March, Iranian attacks damaged a liquified natural gas plant in Qatar that makes helium, halting production.—
Jordan Novet,Jonathan Vanian,
CNBC,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Recent years have been boom times for language that is inarticulate on purpose.—
Megan Garber,
The Atlantic,
24 Feb. 2026
-
There are a few inarticulate screams and sobs but no dialogue, no lyrics, no spoken intro, no utterances at all.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stammering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stammering. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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