muttering

Other forms: mutterings

Muttering is the indistinct grumbling sound of voices. The muttering in your math classroom might make it hard for you to concentrate on your work.

Muttering is usually unintelligible — you can't hear what people are saying, just that they're saying it. Muttering is usually also characterized by dissatisfaction. The continued muttering in an office may inspire a business's owner to offer every employee a raise, simply to put an end to the complaints. Muttering, like the verb mutter, comes from an imitative root, mut.

Definitions of muttering

1. noun

   a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
   synonyms: murmur, murmuration, murmuring, mussitation, mutter

   type of:

   sound

   the sudden occurrence of an audible event
2. noun

   a complaint uttered in a low and indistinct tone
   synonyms: grumble, grumbling, murmur, murmuring, mutter

   type of:

   complaint

   an expression of grievance or resentment