as in muttering
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as in chattering
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
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Recent Examples of sputtering
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
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
In November, the Mavericks fired beleaguered general manager Nico Harrison — the prime target of fans’ ire — amid the Mavericks’ sputtering start and Doncic’s scorching early-season play in Los Angeles.
—Eric Prisbell, Dallas Morning News, 27 Feb. 2026
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 May 2026
Maybe Bryce Eldridge and Jesús Rodriguez can kick-start the sputtering engine?
—Levi Weaver, New York Times, 4 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
The only constant is Mount Etna, looming off to one side, at times sputtering out smoke, ash, and short bursts of lava.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 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
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
In November, the Mavericks fired beleaguered general manager Nico Harrison — the prime target of fans’ ire — amid the Mavericks’ sputtering start and Doncic’s scorching early-season play in Los Angeles.
—Eric Prisbell, Dallas Morning News, 27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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
Maybe Bryce Eldridge and Jesús Rodriguez can kick-start the sputtering engine?
—Levi Weaver, New York Times, 4 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
The only constant is Mount Etna, looming off to one side, at times sputtering out smoke, ash, and short bursts of lava.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sputtering
Verb
-
But a chattering bird builds no nest!—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2026
-
Tabakis lightly strums and plucks over a glowing drone and chattering birds, offering an ecumenical introduction, a smiling welcome.—
Grayson Haver Currin,
Pitchfork,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
And parents will spend money on youth sports even amid a faltering economy.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
18 May 2026
-
Sadly, Luna’s inert fourth feature behind the camera, Ashes (Ceniza en la Boca), is unlikely to course-correct that faltering trajectory.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
Which is why they are now broken up, and everyone is shouting that Amanda is the worst friend since Brutus, and everyone is asking Kyle about his skin-care regimen.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
13 May 2026
-
Last week, the former Duke of York was reportedly out walking the Queen's corgis near the Sandringham estate in Norfolk on May 6 when a masked man wearing a balaclava, or ski mask, jumped out of his parked car and started shouting at Andrew.—
Janine Henni,
PEOPLE,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Surrounded by a gaggle of microphones, cameras and other recording devices, Caleb Wilson offered up a nugget that probably left fans of North Carolina’s NBA team drooling.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
14 May 2026
-
The dog, Russ, drowsed on the floor at his owner’s feet, drooling onto the tile.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 May 2026
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
Verb
-
Then, almost two years into the investigation, Langston stopped by the police station and was chatting with a different administrator, who asked Langston whether the initial search had also been conducted in an older database that not everybody on staff knew about.—
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
When chatting at the Future 50 last summer, Green spoke for more than 12 minutes about his top schools and did not mention Georgia until the program was brought up.—
Jeff Sentell,
AJC.com,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
The stop-motion digital series about a jolly, mumbling, pint-size cook serves up a big slice of serotonin.—
Sonal Dutt,
PEOPLE,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
This nerve-rattling sequence that leaves three of the Khachaturian men dead is a wrenching depiction of innocent casualties brought down by split-second combat decisions.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
15 May 2026
-
Just the title, with its three abrupt syllables, becomes the echo of a century’s rattling sabres.—
Stephanie Bunbury,
Deadline,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sputtering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sputtering. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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