as in to drool
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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Recent Examples of sputter
After initial plans to develop a new antibiotic sputtered, the pair hired a handful of former Pharmacyclics employees and sent them on a quest to find a new cancer drug—anywhere in the world.
—
Kerry A. Dolan, Forbes.com, 3 June 2025
An actual former Fox News Barbie, Megyn Kelly, sputtered.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 11 July 2025
Without Jones to close out Thursday’s game, the Liberty sputtered down the stretch.
—Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 20 June 2025
However, their offense sputtered down the stretch, leaving just enough time for yet another Tyrese Haliburton game-winner.
—Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for sputter
Kerry A. Dolan, Forbes.com, 3 June 2025
An actual former Fox News Barbie, Megyn Kelly, sputtered.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 11 July 2025
Without Jones to close out Thursday’s game, the Liberty sputtered down the stretch.
—Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 20 June 2025
However, their offense sputtered down the stretch, leaving just enough time for yet another Tyrese Haliburton game-winner.
—Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for sputter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sputter
Verb
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His jaw wobbled unsteadily and a thin thread of spit drooled from the side of his mouth onto the counter.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
16 July 2025
-
Early signs include excessive panting, drooling, lethargy and weakness.—
Jen Reeder,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
Verb
-
Most of those shouting questions at Tatis for 45 minutes were doing so in Spanish.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 July 2025
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The 53-year-old ageless wonder was bouncing around the football field barking encouragement, shouting out orders and running circles around participants — many nearly 40 years his younger — at the Orlando Quarterback Shootout and Battle in the Pit.—
Chris Hays,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 July 2025
Verb
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The squirrel, however, is quicker—leaping up a tree and chattering in irritation from a safe distance.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 June 2025
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Critics and the chattering masses on Instagram will have another chance to weigh in as the designers’ first collections hit the runway.—
Evan Clark,
Footwear News,
13 June 2025
Verb
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Before immediately snapping, sighing loudly, or muttering a passive-aggressive comment, try pausing to consider what else might be going on first: Maybe your barista’s slammed with 10 other complicated orders, for instance, or your housemate had a brutal week at work.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
17 June 2025
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McMurtry muttering bone-dry jokes at the end of the world.—
Philip Martin,
Arkansas Online,
26 June 2025
Verb
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While chatting with Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports, Metcalf sent a very bold warning to the rest of the league.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 July 2025
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The Pioneer Press caught up with Conley at this week’s 3M Open to chat Timberwolves, as well as his love of golf.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
25 July 2025
Verb
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But when the disheveled, withdrawn ex-friend shows up in the locker room gibbering about an evil spirit, Sam is mortified, impulsively knocking to the ground the grungy-looking Mason jar that Tamira has been carrying around.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
18 Sep. 2023
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For a while, police interest bent toward a Phud who had been warned he might be eliminated from the program, who had seemed almost exultant about the fire and gibbered gleefully about the media spotlight.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2018
Verb
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While the president is desperate for the Fed to cut interest rates, firing Powell before his term ends in eight months is no guarantee that rates would drop, and his departure would also likely rattle the financial markets.—
Paul Weinstein Jr,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
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Trump’s whiplash approach to threatening and imposing tariffs has at times rattled the markets.—
Tara Suter,
The Hill,
21 July 2025
Verb
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The frenzy came after years of lackluster IPO activity in the city amid post-pandemic risk-off sentiment and stuttering economic growth.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
3 July 2025
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However, natural language processing is not yet perfect in factoring voice tone, slang, accents, pauses or stuttering into the interviewing equation.—
Matthew Corbett,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sputter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sputter. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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