mutteringlyadv.
/ˈmʌt(ə)rɪŋli/, U.S. /ˈmədərɪŋli/, /ˈmətrɪŋli/ With a mutter; in a muttering voice.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > [adverb] > in a mumbling or indistinct manner
closely1564
mafflingly1565
thick1589
fumblingly1598
mumblingly1662
grumblingly1677
mutteringlyc1681
clippingly1849
amutter1856
splutteringly1941
splodgily1963
slurrily1969
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > faintness or weakness > [adverb] > murmuring sound
mutteringlyc1681
murmurously1851
c1681 E. Hickeringill Trimmer vi, in Wks. (1716) I. 388 It was a business (than which) nothing is more discours'd of (mutteringly) at this day.
1740 S. Richardson Pamela I. 69 I said something mutteringly, and he vow'd he would hear it.
1847 T. De Quincey Spanish Mil. Nun in Wks. (1854) III. 53 Mutteringly she put that question to herself.
1892 Harper's Mag. Feb. 410/1 Ed. (mutteringly to himself). There hath been time To woo ten maidens since he left me.
1987 Washington Post (Nexis) 1 Oct. c1 Washington pundits mutteringly wondered if Joe Biden's campaign would be hurt by plagiarism charges.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.c1681