mumble

Use the word "mumble" when a person speaks softly or unclearly. It’s not a good idea to mumble, but some people do it when they don’t want another person to hear what they’re saying.

• The teacher told the students to stop mumbling and finish their work.
• A lot of people in the office were mumbling about their supervisor, saying she was being unfair. (People mumble when they complain privately about something.)
• What are you mumbling about?

Or a person mumbles when speaking softly:

• Edward mumbled a few words of apology to his mother before leaving the house.
• The students who were mumbling during the presentation were told to stay after school.

Sometimes the act of mumbling is a speech deficiency which has to be corrected:

• Christina has a bad habit of mumbling. She needs to learn how to speak clearly.
• Jose mumbles when he speaks in English and in Spanish.

Click here to go to the Word of the Day page.

December 18, 2011