as in shouted
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as in drooled
to speak rapidly, inarticulately, and usually unintelligibly
she was so shocked that, for a moment, all she could do was sputter
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Recent Examples of sputtered
Dan Wiederer, Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2025
New England's offense has sputtered, and their defense hasn't been able to keep games competitive.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 5 Jan. 2025
The offense sputtered and trailed 6-3 at halftime, producing only a 47-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez in the first half.
—Ben Standig, The Athletic, 5 Jan. 2025
Talks to free them have sputtered since a weeklong truce in November 2023 that allowed for the release of 105 Israeli and foreign captives.
—Aaron Boxerman, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2025
Sure, the Patriots offense has sputtered more often than not, but Van Pelt’s done a better job than his boss, Mayo, and defensive counterpart DeMarcus Covington.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 3 Jan. 2025
The Celtics were still on top of the world, while the Pacers sputtered out of the gate.
—Jared Weiss, The Athletic, 29 Dec. 2024
After jumping out to a 9-2 start this season, the Phoenix Suns have sputtered over the past month as injuries have besieged their Big Three.
—Bryan Toporek, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024
The passing offense sputtered uncharacteristically.
—Joe Buscaglia, The Athletic, 23 Dec. 2024
Verb
The Bears lost Brown’s first four games as head coach by an average score of 27-11 while the offense sputtered to an average of 252 yards during that span.
—Dan Wiederer, Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2025
New England's offense has sputtered, and their defense hasn't been able to keep games competitive.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 5 Jan. 2025
The offense sputtered and trailed 6-3 at halftime, producing only a 47-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez in the first half.
—Ben Standig, The Athletic, 5 Jan. 2025
Talks to free them have sputtered since a weeklong truce in November 2023 that allowed for the release of 105 Israeli and foreign captives.
—Aaron Boxerman, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2025
Sure, the Patriots offense has sputtered more often than not, but Van Pelt’s done a better job than his boss, Mayo, and defensive counterpart DeMarcus Covington.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 3 Jan. 2025
The Celtics were still on top of the world, while the Pacers sputtered out of the gate.
—Jared Weiss, The Athletic, 29 Dec. 2024
After jumping out to a 9-2 start this season, the Phoenix Suns have sputtered over the past month as injuries have besieged their Big Three.
—Bryan Toporek, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024
The passing offense sputtered uncharacteristically.
—Joe Buscaglia, The Athletic, 23 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near sputtered
Cite this Entry
“Sputtered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sputtered. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
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