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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sputter
Arizona, which sputtered early but has rolled through the Big 12, received a No. 3 seed from the committee and was the No. 12 overall seed.
—
Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 15 Feb. 2025
The Lakers’ offense sputtered after a strong start, partly because the short-handed Timberwolves (playing without Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle) tightened up their defense.
—Khobi Price, Orange County Register, 28 Feb. 2025
India’s economy has also sputtered over the previous year, diminishing the country’s bragging rights as being the fastest growing economy within the G20.
—Vasuki Shastry, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025
Loading your audio article The Bay Area job market, a long-time engine for California’s economy, has sputtered badly in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, reflecting a profound shift in the fortunes of Silicon Valley.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sputter
Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 15 Feb. 2025
The Lakers’ offense sputtered after a strong start, partly because the short-handed Timberwolves (playing without Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle) tightened up their defense.
—Khobi Price, Orange County Register, 28 Feb. 2025
India’s economy has also sputtered over the previous year, diminishing the country’s bragging rights as being the fastest growing economy within the G20.
—Vasuki Shastry, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025
Loading your audio article The Bay Area job market, a long-time engine for California’s economy, has sputtered badly in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, reflecting a profound shift in the fortunes of Silicon Valley.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sputter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sputter
Verb
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There’s a reason scouts once drooled over Williams’ potential.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
8 Mar. 2025
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Symptoms from scorpion stings — such as burning at the sting site, drooling.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Players swig from beer cans and shout old-timey sayings at one another.—
Jason Mastrodonato,
Mercury News,
29 Mar. 2025
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The proud dad even shared John’s grades, showing screenshots of his 100% test scores in business law while shouting out Hill for their son’s scholastic success.—
Avalon Hester,
People.com,
29 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The camera then zooms out of the hospital window, showing the family happily chattering as snow falls.—
Declan Gallagher,
EW.com,
13 Dec. 2024
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Louis Vuitton has launched the LV Biker MM, a new signature bag masterminded by artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière, and the chattering fashion classes are already angling to invest.—
airmail.news,
airmail.news,
22 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Does anyone dare mutter a single un-strategic comment about the food?—
Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Mar. 2025
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Ally and Jay are both sarcastic, too — their best lines are muttered under their breaths — and their repartee becomes more interesting than the bloody theatrics.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Or if, in the case of Bumble’s Concierge service, two bots are chatting with each other while each person goes about their day, how will daters know if there is actually a connection based on who each of them really is?—
Myisha Battle,
Time,
28 Mar. 2025
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Fest latest: Glasgow Film Festival industry boss Samantha Andie Bennett chatted with Diana about a busy year.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
28 Mar. 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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Read More: Detentions of Tourists and Visa-Holders Fuel Anxiety About Travel to U.S. Neighbors said they were left rattled by the arrest, which played out at 5:30 p.m. on a residential block.—
JAKE OFFENHARTZ,
Time,
26 Mar. 2025
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Shifting government policies are adversely impacting business, rattling financial markets, and disrupting supply chains.—
Mark A. Cohen,
Forbes,
24 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Marsden stuttered as Gonzalez put a hand to her heart.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
26 Mar. 2025
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The King’s Speech is the apex of that trend: This eminently likable story, about a stuttering king (Colin Firth) and the speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) who helps him, hits every inspirational beat and has a patina of class to it.—
Will Leitch,
Vulture,
3 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sputter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sputter. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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