mumble
[muhm-buh l]
- 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.
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- 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.
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- a low, indistinct utterance or sound.
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Origin of mumble
Synonyms
See more synonyms for mumble on Thesaurus.com1, 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 mumbling
Contemporary Examples
For everyone else, it was a change in the weather, an appearance of the real, Brando mumbling in a movie.
His wide blue eyes, baby face, and soft, mumbling voice are less pronounced than they are onscreen.
Yulia Shmalov (Economy) tries to stop me, mumbling something about the New Israel Fund.
Then he or she would start to speak, mumbling thoughts to the dog, recalling his or her own pets.
The victim was mumbling.... When they arrived at the apartment, Famolu carried Karmari inside.
Wisconsin Political Attack Ad Forces Mom to Re-Live Anguish Over Murdered SonMichael Daly
June 8, 2012
Historical Examples
I liked the sound of this and so kept on mumbling "All dead, all dead."
City of Endless NightMilo Hastings
His voice had a mumbling quality and I noticed the strangeness in his eyes.
The HarborErnest Poole
"Restrain your improper violence," he went on mumbling rapidly.
An Outcast of the IslandsJoseph Conrad
"Don't go near him," said O'Brien, in a thick, mumbling voice.
RomanceJoseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer
"Death amongst friends is but a festival," he quoted, mumbling in his moustache.
The RescueJoseph Conrad
mumble
- to utter indistinctly, as with the mouth partly closed; mutter
- rare to chew (food) ineffectually or with difficulty
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- an indistinct or low utterance or sound
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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 mumbling
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.
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mumble
n.
1902, from mumble (v.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper