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View synonyms for utterance

utterance

1

[ uht-er-uhns ]

noun

  1. an act of uttering; utter; uttering; vocal expression.
  2. manner of speaking; power of speaking:

    His very utterance was spellbinding.

  3. something uttered; utter; a word or words uttered; utter; a cry, animal's call, or the like.
  4. Linguistics. any speech sequence consisting of one or more words and preceded and followed by silence: it may be coextensive with a sentence.
  5. Obsolete. a public sale of goods.


utterance

2

[ uht-er-uhns ]

noun

, Archaic.
  1. the utmost extremity, especially death.

utterance

1

/ ˈʌtərəns /

noun

  1. something uttered, such as a statement
  2. the act or power of uttering or the ability to utter
  3. logic philosophy an element of spoken language, esp a sentence Compare inscription


utterance

2

/ ˈʌtərəns /

noun

  1. archaic.
    the bitter end (esp in the phrase to the utterance )

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Word History and Origins

Origin of utterance1

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; utter 1, -ance

Origin of utterance2

1350–1400; Middle English < Old French outrance, oultrance, equivalent to oultr ( er ) to pass beyond (< Latin ultrā beyond) + -ance -ance

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Word History and Origins

Origin of utterance1

C13: from Old French oultrance, from oultrer to carry to excess, from Latin ultrā beyond

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Example Sentences

It is not that the octopus’s utterances make sense, but rather that the islander can make sense of them, Bender says.

The utterance emerged in February 2019 from Fox & Friends presenter Pete Hegseth, who was referring to … germs.

One of the most interesting, self-aware utterances on the topic came from Theo Epstein on the day last fall when he stepped down as president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs.

His every appearance and utterance drove the sport’s news cycle.

Namely, don’t waste time paying attention to and parsing the utterances of the playoff committee until Selection Sunday.

Around my own friends, someone will wind up a conversation with a shrug and a baffling—to me—utterance of “Haters gonna hate.”

All the while, his father continues to make headlines with his every eyebrow-raising utterance.

His dying utterance, “I feel my whole body burning,” was widely reported.

In recent weeks, the markets have been hanging, more than usual, on every Bernanke utterance.

Which, in such cases—the act or the utterance, the gesture or the text—is the palimpsest of other?

And having nothing in their minds which seeks utterance, they remain quiet.

The flood of language and emotion, too long suppressed, again rose to his very lips—when a slight sound stopped his utterance.

Its utterance filled the air like soft thunder, and a hush came over the whole room.

His aching heart, filled with an immeasurable love, remained without the relief of utterance.

He simpered awhile and toyed with trivialities of speech before he gave utterance to the matter that absorbed him.

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