as in muttering
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as in drooling
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sputtering
Michael Kugelman, NPR, 21 Dec. 2024
Those reports have unnerved British officials, who fear the tariffs could throttle the country’s already sputtering economic growth.
—Mark Landler, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2024
Kushner heaps flashback upon flashback; minor characters flare promisingly to life—a creepy uncle of Lucien’s, a disgruntled ex-Moulinard—before sputtering out, victims of their own inconsequence.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
The Chinese economy is sputtering and the government is working on a stimulus package to boost the economy.
—Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024
With the Mets offense still sputtering and the bullpen taxed, Dodgers phenom Ohtani added insult to injury in the eighth inning.
—Jacob Lev, CNN, 17 Oct. 2024
The fact that the Chargers have kept games close despite their sputtering offense is a testament to the defensive makeover under first-year coordinator Jesse Minter.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2024
Last week, the Chinese government announced several broad measures to boost its economy, which has been sputtering and looks unlikely to meet its government’s annual growth target.
—Megan Poinski, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024
Verb
But if the reform process lags and if Bangladesh's sputtering economy doesn't improve, the public's patience could start to wear thin for an administration that for now enjoys ample support.
—Michael Kugelman, NPR, 21 Dec. 2024
Those reports have unnerved British officials, who fear the tariffs could throttle the country’s already sputtering economic growth.
—Mark Landler, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2024
Kushner heaps flashback upon flashback; minor characters flare promisingly to life—a creepy uncle of Lucien’s, a disgruntled ex-Moulinard—before sputtering out, victims of their own inconsequence.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
The Chinese economy is sputtering and the government is working on a stimulus package to boost the economy.
—Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024
With the Mets offense still sputtering and the bullpen taxed, Dodgers phenom Ohtani added insult to injury in the eighth inning.
—Jacob Lev, CNN, 17 Oct. 2024
The fact that the Chargers have kept games close despite their sputtering offense is a testament to the defensive makeover under first-year coordinator Jesse Minter.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2024
Last week, the Chinese government announced several broad measures to boost its economy, which has been sputtering and looks unlikely to meet its government’s annual growth target.
—Megan Poinski, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sputtering
Verb
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After chatting to a voice LLM chatbot like ChatGPT, going back to trying to have a conversational user experience with Alexa (or Siri, or whoever) is frustrating.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
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Brown suggested allowing for photos and videos to be shared, and adding video-chatting capabilities.—
James Watson,
Hartford Courant,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Over that same 50 years of executive pushing, pushing, pushing, the partisan primary system was coming into full force after a halting initial implementation.—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
30 May 2025
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Among other things, Biden appeared to repeatedly lose his train of thought, made halting statements and stared blankly into the audience.—
Sonam Sheth,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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But some people may be hesitant about having any of their activities tracked to benefit a multi-trillion-dollar conglomerate.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
1 June 2025
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In the meantime, businesses are left in the murky waters — hesitant to make more or ship more, unsure where to build factories or how high to raise prices.—
Alina Selyukh,
NPR,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sputtering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sputtering. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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