STAMMER


Meaning of STAMMER in English

I. stam ‧ mer 1 /ˈstæmə $ -ər/ BrE AmE verb [intransitive and transitive]

[ Language: Old English ; Origin: stamerian ]

to speak with a lot of pauses and repeated sounds, either because you have a speech problem, or because you are nervous, excited etc SYN stutter :

Whenever he was angry, he would begin to stammer slightly.

Ben stammered out an apology.

—stammerer 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.

II. stammer 2 BrE AmE noun [countable usually singular]

a speech problem which makes someone speak with a lot of pauses and repeated sounds SYN stutter :

Jeff spoke with a slight stammer.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.