mut ‧ ter /ˈmʌtə $ -ər/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: Probably from the sound ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to speak in a low voice, especially because you are annoyed about something, or you do not want people to hear you
mutter to yourself
‘I never want to come here again,’ he muttered to himself.
Elsie muttered something I couldn’t catch and walked off.
‘He’s such an unpleasant man,’ Alyssia muttered under her breath.
mutter about
What are you two muttering about?
2 . [intransitive] to complain about something or express doubts about it, but without saying clearly and openly what you think
mutter about
Some senators muttered darkly about the threat to national security.
—mutter noun [singular] :
His voice subsided to a mutter.
—muttering noun [uncountable and countable] :
The mutterings about his leadership continued to grow.
• • •
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.