mum ‧ ble /ˈmʌmb ə l/ BrE AmE verb [intransitive and transitive]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: From the sound ]
to say something too quietly or not clearly enough, so that other people cannot understand you ⇨ mutter :
He bumped into someone and mumbled an apology.
Stop mumbling!
mumble to yourself
A woman on the corner was mumbling to herself.
—mumble noun [countable]
• • •
THESAURUS
■ different ways of saying something
▪ whisper to say something very quietly, using your breath rather than your full voice:
‘Don’t wake the baby,’ Jenny whispered.
▪ mumble to say something quietly without pronouncing the words clearly:
He mumbled his thanks.
▪ mutter to say something quietly, especially when you are annoyed but do not want someone to hear you complaining:
‘This is ridiculous,’ he muttered under his breath.
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She muttered something about having to go home early.
▪ murmur to say something in a soft slow gentle voice:
She stroked his hair and murmured, ‘Don’t worry. You’ll be all right.’
▪ growl to say something in a low angry voice:
‘As I was saying,’ Lewis growled, ‘it needs to be finished today.’
▪ snarl to say something in a nasty angry way:
‘Get out of my way!’ he snarled.
▪ exclaim to say something suddenly and loudly:
‘How beautiful!’ she exclaimed.
▪ blurt out to suddenly say something without thinking, especially something embarrassing or secret:
It was partly nervousness that had made him blurt out the question.
▪ stammer/stutter to speak with a lot of pauses and repeated sounds, because you have a speech problem, or because you are nervous or excited:
‘I’ll, I’ll only be a m-moment,’ he stammered.