mutter
pronunciation
How to pronounce mutter in British English:
UK [ˈmʌtə(r)]
How to pronounce mutter in American English:
US [ˈmʌtər]
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- Noun:
- a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
- a complaint uttered in a low and indistinct tone
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- Verb:
- talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
- make complaining remarks or noises under one's breath
Word Origin
- mutter (v.)
- early 14c., moteren "to mumble," from a common PIE imitative *mut- "to grunt, mutter" (cognates: Old Norse muðla "to murmur," Latin muttire "to mutter," Old High German mutilon "to murmur, mutter; to drizzle"), with frequentative suffix -er. Related: Muttered; muttering.
- mutter (n.)
- 1630s, from mutter (v.).
Example
- 1. People mutter about nation-building beginning at home : why , many wonder , should american children do worse at reading than polish ones and at maths than lithuanians ?
- 2. After all , they mutter , if washington could produce fatca and then impose it in an imperial manner on businesses across the world what other capricious surprises loom next ?
- 3. Many people in the accounting profession mutter that it would have been wiser for the government to take longer , as many other countries that are better able to make the change have done .
- 4. If she feels uncomfortable in any way , she is to mutter out loud the phrase , " I hope I 'm not getting a cold . "
- 5. Professional advisers sometimes mutter a damning phrase after first meeting an aspirant chief executive who got a job , along with his dna , from dad " clogs to clogs in three generations " .