stuttering

Pluralstutterings (some meanings)

1. 1
   noununcountable

   A speech disorder in which the normal flow of speech is broken by involuntary repetitions, drawn-out sounds, or silent blocks where the speaker cannot produce sounds.

   Like a record that skips and repeats the same note before the music can move on.

   Years of speech therapy gave him real control over his stuttering.

   Childhood stuttering sometimes resolves on its own as a child grows older.

   Similarstammering, stammer

   Oppositefluency

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of stutter.

   By the end of the toast he was stuttering on almost every word.

   Stuttering through the apology, he could barely meet her eyes.

   Note

   Behind the form is a verb that works with or without an object: he was stuttering, or he was stuttering an apology. As a gerund it names the act as it happens (his stuttering through the toast). That puts it close to the disorder, but it describes one performance rather than a lasting condition. The verb also has a rarer physical use, for a gas forced out with difficulty.

3. 3
   nouncountable

   A single occurrence of disrupted speech, such as one repeated syllable or one silent block.

   Like a single skipped beat in an otherwise steady rhythm.

   A brief stuttering interrupted his answer before he regained his rhythm.

   The recording captured several stutterings during the tense interview.

   Similarstammer, hesitation, stumble, falter

   Note

   The countable side of the noun. Where the disorder names a condition, this sense names a single event, so it takes a plural: stutterings. Use it for moments you could point to on a recording, such as a stuttering before the answer or several stutterings in an interview. For the condition itself, keep to the uncountable form: her stuttering, not her stutterings.

4. 4
   adjective

   Of a person or their speech, marked by involuntary repetitions, prolonged sounds, or blocks while talking.

   The stuttering speaker paused often, searching for a smooth start.

   His stuttering delivery did not stop the audience from listening closely.

   Similarhalting, faltering, hesitant

   Oppositefluent, smooth, articulate

   Note

   A participle turned adjective, and it shows the change by grading: a speaker can be more stuttering or most stuttering, which a verb form cannot be. Before a noun, as in a stuttering speaker or a stuttering delivery, it describes a person or a voice. After be it usually reads as the verb in progress (he was stuttering), describing what is happening at that moment.

5. 5
   adjectivefiguratively

   Hesitant; proceeding in an uneven, halting way with frequent stops and starts.

   The economy showed stuttering growth, surging one quarter and stalling the next.

   His stuttering attempts at reform never quite gained momentum.

   Similarhalting, faltering, fitful, uneven, erratic

   Oppositesteady, smooth, consistent, sustained

   Note

   Here the stops and starts leave speech behind and attach to progress. Chris Whyatt's BBC report of December 2010 calls Chelsea's 1–0 win over Bolton, which ended their worst run since 1999, a stuttering victory. The win itself is not in doubt, only its smoothness. A hesitant team holds back, while a stuttering one moves forward in fits. The sense grows directly from the literal adjective.

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