as in to stammer
to speak with many involuntary pauses and repetitions
I used to stutter when I was a child. She stutters when she gets excited.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stutter
Athletes like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and George Springer have been open about stuttering issues in the past.
—
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 2 Mar. 2026
There are echoes of those campaigns this term; Arsenal led the standings for the majority of those seasons and is stuttering.
—ABC News, 19 Feb. 2026
The attack ended what had been a stuttering process of bilateral US-Iranian talks designed to rein in Tehran’s nuclear program.
—Tim Lister, CNN Money, 5 Jan. 2026
So was bassist Pino Palladino, late jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove, keyboardist James Poyser, and Questlove’s stuttering percussion, inspired by secret weapon, Hip-hop production game-changer J Dilla.
—Keith Murphy, VIBE.com, 12 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stutter
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 2 Mar. 2026
There are echoes of those campaigns this term; Arsenal led the standings for the majority of those seasons and is stuttering.
—ABC News, 19 Feb. 2026
The attack ended what had been a stuttering process of bilateral US-Iranian talks designed to rein in Tehran’s nuclear program.
—Tim Lister, CNN Money, 5 Jan. 2026
So was bassist Pino Palladino, late jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove, keyboardist James Poyser, and Questlove’s stuttering percussion, inspired by secret weapon, Hip-hop production game-changer J Dilla.
—Keith Murphy, VIBE.com, 12 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stutter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stutter
Verb
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After the awkward, stammering meet-cute, the string of joyful dates, the picturesque proposal, this perfect little love story takes a turn.—
Meg Walters,
Glamour,
3 Apr. 2026
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This leads to Gregory asking about Lord Anderson, but before Violet has even stammered her way through two words, Benedict whips in like a bat outta hell.—
Christina Grace Tucker,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Chase Reid, meanwhile, just put together a better-than-point-per-game season in the OHL and has the loud tools — the escapability and skating speed in particular — that have NHL scouts positively drooling.—
Thomas Drance,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
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Predators respond with head shaking, gaping, drooling, and frantic licking.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Both look over at me and then Lumet mumbles something and the conversation abruptly ends.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
23 Apr. 2026
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Peters started to mumble, sway and close his eyes as the camera panned away.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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At one point, the crew shot a scene in which Whalen’s character joins a bar fight, shouting invectives at a hapless extra before pummelling him to the ground.—
Chang Che,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
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One final command was shouted by the officer.—
Brian Day,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Pulido told the crowd, before scratching his signature onto the brim and handing it to Jimena, who pumped it in the air and shrieked with joy.—
Jesús Rodríguez,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
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The Bob Baker Marionettes knew their audience very well — the crowd shrieked along to the chorus.—
Rebecca Castillo,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But Brown has seemed to often be frustrated by his role in the team’s offense, which continued last fall as his production dipped and the offense as a whole sputtered.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
24 Apr. 2026
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The museum’s original buildings, designed by William Pereira and completed in 1965, sputtered soon after opening.—
Bloomberg,
Bloomberg,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stutter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stutter. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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