3 meanings
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1 —as in:
utter stupidity
Definition
complete or total (used as an intensifier—typically when stressing how bad something is)- She suffered utter devastation when her child died in the accident.
utter = complete
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- The company is in danger of utter collapse.
- She is utterly insane!
- Which best describes her attitude toward him:
- affection but not genuine love
- respect but not utter deference
- I am utterly astonished!
- I've been in an utter state of confusion today.Anne Frank -- The Diary of a Young Girl
- Driving west out of Atlanta, he intended to invent an utterly new life for himself, one in which he would be free to wallow in unfiltered experience.Jon Krakauer -- Into the Wild
- So far, things were utterly dull: nobody had thundered, there were no arguments between opposing counsel, there was no drama; a grave disappointment to all present, it seemed.Harper Lee -- To Kill a Mockingbird
- I have studied, over and over again since they came into my hands, all the papers relating to this monster, and the more I have studied, the greater seems the necessity to utterly stamp him out.Bram Stoker -- Dracula
- He had the feeling of sitting in utter loneliness.George Orwell -- 1984
utter = total or complete
utterly = completely
utter = complete or total
utterly = completely
utter = complete or total
utterly = completely
utterly = completely
utterly = completely
utter = complete or total
2 —as in:
utter a complaint
Definition
say something aloud- I was too shocked to utter a complaint.
utter = say something aloud
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- The decision was made before I could utter an opinion.
- The bass drum went boom with every sentence Mrs. Merriweather uttered.Harper Lee -- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Never have they uttered a single word about the burden we must be, never have they complained that we're too much trouble.Anne Frank -- The Diary of a Young Girl
- All the talk we ever have heard
Uttered by bat or beast or bird—Rudyard Kipling -- The Jungle Book - Only old Benjamin refused to grow enthusiastic about the windmill, though, as usual, he would utter nothing beyond the cryptic remark that donkeys live a long time.George Orwell -- Animal Farm
- He had been woefully unprepared to lead an Arctic expedition, and upon returning to England, he was known as the Man Who Ate His Shoes, yet the sobriquet was uttered more often with awe than with ridicule.Jon Krakauer -- Into the Wild
- I utter my first words since my sister's death.Suzanne Collins -- Mockingjay
- We spend the rest of the night taking turns expressing how we feel without uttering a single word.Colleen Hoover -- Hopeless
- How had she uttered something so horrible?Scott Westerfeld -- Uglies
utter = say with the voice
uttered = said
uttered = said
uttered = said
utter = say
uttered = said
utter = say something aloud
uttering = saying
uttered = said
3 —as in:
utter a sound
Definition
make a sound with the voice- She wanted to warn him, but fear kept her from uttering a sound.
uttering = making a sound with the voice
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- She wanted to complain, but she was so shocked she could not utter even a single sound.
- Four young porkers in the front row uttered shrill squeals of disapproval, and all four of them sprang to their feet and began speaking at once.George Orwell -- Animal Farm
- He looked in Mrs. van D.'s mouth and found two teeth that made her wince with pain and utter incoherent cries every time he touched them.Anne Frank -- The Diary of a Young Girl
- The savage stopped fifteen yards away and uttered his cry.William Golding -- Lord of the Flies
- Mary utters something unintelligible, staring at Abigail, who keeps watching the "bird" above.Arthur Miller -- The Crucible
- Julia uttered a tiny sound, a sort of squeak of surprise.George Orwell -- 1984
- Kreacher was gulping for air: His hollow chest was rising and falling rapidly, then his eyes flew open and he uttered a bloodcurdling scream.J.K. Rowling -- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- As soon as I see the stars above my head, there isn't even enough time to count one of them before my eyes roll back in my head and I'm holding back sounds that I'm too embarrassed to utter.Colleen Hoover -- Hopeless
- Again, at the first instant of perceiving that thin visage, and the slight deformity of the figure, she pressed her infant to her bosom with so convulsive a force that the poor babe uttered another cry of pain.Nathaniel Hawthorne -- The Scarlet Letter
utter = make a sound with the voice
uttered = made (a sound with the voice)
utter = make a sound with the voice
uttered = made a sound with the voice
utters = makes a sound with the voice
uttered = made a sound with the voice
uttered = made a sound with the voice
utter = make a sound with the voice
uttered = made a sound with the voice