utterance

¹ American  

[uht-er-uhns] / ˈʌt ər əns /

noun

1. an act of uttering; utter; uttering; vocal expression.

2. manner of speaking; power of speaking.

   His very utterance was spellbinding.

3. something uttered; utter; a word or words uttered; utter; a cry, animal's call, or the like.

4. Linguistics. any speech sequence consisting of one or more words and preceded and followed by silence: it may be coextensive with a sentence.

5. Obsolete. a public sale of goods.

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utterance ² American  

[uht-er-uhns] / ˈʌt ər əns /

noun

Archaic.

1. the utmost extremity, especially death.

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utterance ¹ British  

/ ˈʌtərəns /

noun

1. something uttered, such as a statement

2. the act or power of uttering or the ability to utter

3. logic philosophy an element of spoken language, esp a sentence Compare inscription

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utterance ² British  

/ ˈʌtərəns /

noun

1. archaic the bitter end (esp in the phrase to the utterance )

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Etymology

Origin of utterance¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; utter ¹, -ance

Origin of utterance²

1350–1400; Middle English < Old French outrance, oultrance, equivalent to oultr ( er ) to pass beyond (< Latin ultrā beyond) + -ance -ance

Example Sentences

The flat stoicism of her earlier utterances disappears and Mrs. Dannenberg grounds her forehead into the palm of her hand.

From Literature

Scotland have been reluctant to show emotion in their public utterances this week.

From BBC

After almost 30 years in the Senate, his every invariably solemn utterance is beyond well known to me.

From The Wall Street Journal

After a truth-telling lecture tour failed to attract much of an audience, Maggie retracted her confession: “I gave expression to utterances that had no foundation in fact.”

From Literature

Barely hours into the top job, Peru's eighth president in a decade found himself under fire Thursday over past utterances on child marriage, and graft allegations.

From Barron's

Related Words

• assertion
• pronouncement