Stammer Meaning
/ˈstæmə/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo keep repeating a particular sound involuntarily during speech.
verbTo utter with a stammer, or with timid hesitancy.
Sentence Examples
The new boy had a nervous stammer.
Tom began to stammer.
Please do not mock me for my stammer.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
Due to his anxiety, he would often ____ and repeat syllables when talking to strangers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He used to ____ when he was nervous, but he has worked hard with a therapist to improve his speech.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The high school had a send-off in my honour. It was an uncommon thing for a young man of Rajkot to go to England. I had written out a few words of thanks. But I could scarcely stammer them out. I remember how my head reeled and how my whole frame shook as I stood up to read them."
— 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xi
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Due to his anxiety, he would often ____ and repeat syllables when talking to strangers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He used to ____ when he was nervous, but he has worked hard with a therapist to improve his speech.