mutteredadj.
/ˈmʌtəd/, U.S. /ˈmədərd/ That is uttered indistinctly and in low tones.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > [adjective] > muttering or mumbling > mumbled
undistinct1495
mumbled?1542
murmured1584
demurmuratory1617
muttered1626
broken-winded1627
1626 G. Sandys tr. Ovid Metamorphosis ix. 182 [She] with mutter'd spels Of secret powre, the pressing birth repels.
1706 J. Addison Epil. in G. Granville Brit. Enchanters sig. A4 Where sounding Strings and artful Voices fail, The charming Rod and mutter'd Spells prevail.
a1748 J. Thomson Liberty iv, in Poet. Wks. (1830) II. 177 No mutter'd grievance, hopeless sigh, was heard.
1814 W. Scott Waverley II. xi. 185 The Major..cursed, with a muttered military oath, the circumstances which recalled him to his official functions. View more context for this quotation
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits viii. 138 It is done in the dark, and with muttered maledictions.
1888 H. Smart Master of Rathkelly xxiii And now came a low muttered conference between McDermot and his companions.
1905 Baroness Orczy Scarlet Pimpernel xxiv. 228 Marguerite could not help smiling to herself as she watched all these preparations, which Brogard accomplished to an accompaniment of muttered oaths.
1988 M. Chabon Myst. Pittsburgh ix. 84 From his muttered replies I tried to guess to whom he was talking.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1626