What does “utter” mean?
- 1
adjectivecomplete or total, used to make a negative word stronger
The evening was an utter disaster.
- 2
verbto say something or make a sound with your voice
She left without uttering a word.
Utter at a glance
- Part of speech
- adjective & verb
- CEFR level
- C1 (advanced)
- Pronunciation
- /ˈʌtər/ · UT-er
How to use “utter” correctly
The adjective goes before a noun only (“utter chaos”) and usually with bad things. The verb is often negative: “didn’t utter a sound”.
Common phrases with “utter”
- utter nonsense
- utter disaster
- utter a word
- utterly ridiculous
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Word family
- utterly
- utterance
“utter” is on these word lists
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