stammer

B2 Topic:Communication

US /ˈstæmɚ/ UK /ˈstæmə/ See IPA manual

verb noun name Freq #32893

Meanings

1

verb
To speak with difficulty, repeating sounds or pausing nervously.

He blushed and stammered a few words of apology.
2

noun
A speech problem in which a person repeats sounds or pauses when speaking.

She has had a slight stammer since childhood.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to speak with difficulty,... falter stutter

2 noun · a speech problem in which a... stutter

More balbucinatebalbutiate croak drawl gibber hacker hammer haw hesitate jabber mince

Opposites

annunciatearticulate

Word family

Forms stammeredstammerersstammeringstammers

Derived forms stammererstammeringlystammeryunstammering

Etymology

From Middle English stameren, from Old English stamerian, from Proto-West Germanic *stamrōn, from Proto-Germanic *stamrōną (“to stammer”). Compare German stammeln, Dutch stameren, Old Norse stammr. Doublet of stumble.

stameren Middle English stamerian Old English *stamrōn Proto-West Germanic *stamrōną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Communication

# stammer

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun, name
**IPA (US):** ˈstæmɚ
**IPA (UK):** ˈstæmə
**Frequency rank:** 32893

## Meanings
1. To speak with difficulty, repeating sounds or pausing nervously.
2. A speech problem in which a person repeats sounds or pauses when speaking.

## Examples
- He blushed and stammered a few words of apology.
- She has had a slight stammer since childhood.

## Synonyms
- balbucinate
- balbutiate
- croak
- drawl
- falter
- gibber
- hacker
- hammer
- haw
- hesitate
- jabber
- mince

## Antonyms
- annunciate
- articulate

## Derived Forms
- stammerer
- stammeringly
- stammery
- unstammering

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: stameren
- Root: stamerian
- Root: *stamrōn
- Root: *stamrōną

## Etymology
From Middle English stameren, from Old English stamerian, from Proto-West Germanic *stamrōn, from Proto-Germanic *stamrōną (“to stammer”). Compare German stammeln, Dutch stameren, Old Norse stammr. Doublet of stumble.

## AI Etymology
Stammer is from Middle English stameren, from Old English stamerian, from Proto-West Germanic *stamrōn, from Proto-Germanic *stamrōną (“to stammer”). Compare German stammeln, Dutch stameren, Old Norse stammr. Doublet of stumble. In present-day use, it can mean to speak with difficulty, repeating sounds or pausing nervously, or a speech problem in which a person repeats sounds or pauses when speaking.

## Topics
- Communication

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