mumble

[muhm-buh l]

See more synonyms for mumble on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), mum·bled, mum·bling.

to speak in a low indistinct manner, almost to an unintelligible extent; mutter.
to chew ineffectively, as from loss of teeth: to mumble on a crust.

verb (used with object), mum·bled, mum·bling.

to say or utter indistinctly, as with partly closed lips: He mumbled something about expenses.
to chew, or try to eat, with difficulty, as from loss of teeth.

noun

a low, indistinct utterance or sound.

Origin of mumble

1275–1325; Middle English momelen, equivalent to mom(me) mum¹ + -elen -le; compare Dutch mommelen, German mummeln

Related formsmum·bler, nounmum·bling·ly, adverbhalf-mum·bled, adjectiveun·mum·bled, adjectiveun·mum·bling, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for mumble on Thesaurus.com

1, 3. See murmur.

Antonyms

1. articulate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for mumble

Contemporary Examples

Everywhere we go, inspiration hits us and we just kind of mumble things into our iPhones.
Haim: We’re a Band. Not a ‘Girl Band.’
Melissa Leon
May 21, 2014
He defines Dynamic Inaction with one pithy aphorism: “When in doubt, mumble; when in trouble, delegate; when in charge, ponder.”
When In Doubt, Mumble—Dynamic Inaction May Be Our Best Hope
Joe McLean
April 6, 2013
"The mumble could be passive aggressive—the person wants to have someone work very hard at hearing them," Batson says.
Mumbling Wins Oscars!
Zachary Pincus-Roth
March 3, 2010
I wondered whether I should mumble that I had been raised by a German Lutheran.
My Conversation with John Updike
Barbara Probst Solomon
January 29, 2009
During takeoff and landing, I mumble a short prayer that I learned long ago in Sunday school.
The Great Plane Crash Myth
Ben Sherwood
January 17, 2009

Historical Examples

His boastful accents died away into a mumble: "Dunno what I should do."
The Golden Age
Kenneth Grahame
I understood his mumble to mean that "he didn't know any game."
Falk
Joseph Conrad
He squeezed my arm till he extorted from me some sort of mumble.
Falk
Joseph Conrad
Gone was the mumble, gone was every thought except the misery of the minute.
Phyllis
Dorothy Whitehill
When he would cry out to her his frozen lips could mumble no words.
Nan of Music Mountain
Frank H. Spearman

British Dictionary definitions for mumble

mumble

verb

to utter indistinctly, as with the mouth partly closed; mutter
rare to chew (food) ineffectually or with difficulty

noun

an indistinct or low utterance or sound

Derived Formsmumbler, nounmumbling, adjectivemumblingly, adverb

Word Origin

C14 momelen, from mum ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mumble

v.

early 14c., momelen, "to eat in a slow, ineffective manner" (perhaps "to talk with one's mouth full"), probably frequentative of interjection mum. The -b- is excrescent. Meaning "to speak indistinctly" is from mid-14c. Related: Mumbled; mumbling.

n.

1902, from mumble (v.).

mumble

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Synonyms

Antonyms

Examples from the Web for mumble

Contemporary Examples

Everywhere we go, inspiration hits us and we just kind of mumble things into our iPhones.

He defines Dynamic Inaction with one pithy aphorism: “When in doubt, mumble; when in trouble, delegate; when in charge, ponder.”

"The mumble could be passive aggressive—the person wants to have someone work very hard at hearing them," Batson says.

I wondered whether I should mumble that I had been raised by a German Lutheran.

During takeoff and landing, I mumble a short prayer that I learned long ago in Sunday school.

Historical Examples

His boastful accents died away into a mumble: "Dunno what I should do."

I understood his mumble to mean that "he didn't know any game."

He squeezed my arm till he extorted from me some sort of mumble.

Gone was the mumble, gone was every thought except the misery of the minute.

When he would cry out to her his frozen lips could mumble no words.

mumble

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for mumble

v.

n.

Origin of mumble