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
Adjective
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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.
Verb
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Next up, maybe lawmakers can do something about overly soft, mumbling dialogue preceded by deafening explosions.
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Gilbert, now imprisoned at Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, appeared gaunt and withdrawn during the interview, at times mumbling short responses before abruptly cutting the conversation short.
Adjective
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Their biggest bats were sputtering, too.
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This one required extra innings and undid a late surge by their sputtering offense.
Adjective
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Russia’s military losses have mainly come down to Ukraine’s improving abilities to strike deep behind front lines, as well as Russia’s own faltering military machine, two factors with direct repercussions on the Russian economy at large.
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Tesla is likewise faltering on the hardware side, particularly where the company’s self-driving Robotaxis are concerned.
Adjective
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When team members seem disconnected, less motivated or hesitant to contribute, leaders need to look beyond surface-level symptoms and determine what’s really standing in the way of stronger participation and performance.
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Some delegates were hesitant, but a committee was appointed to draft the document.
Adjective
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Lowell’s halting effort came in a major anniversary year much like our own—a year of conflict, division, and disorientation.
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All singing and moving in three-quarters time at the halting dawn of the 20th century.
Adjective
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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.
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Yet masculinism also functions as a perpetual-motion machine of grievance, an inarticulate howl of anguish at the status quo—whatever that currently is.
Cite this Entry
“Stammering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stammering. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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