mumble

mumble — verb

1. to say something so quietly or with so little lip movement that people cannot he

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to say something so quietly or with so little lip movement that people cannot hear or understand the words

Example

Amira always mumbles when she is tired, so her classmates ask her to repeat herself.

intransitive — mumble when tired

The boy mumbled an apology to his teacher after knocking over her coffee.

transitive: mumble + apology

Common collocations
  • mumble an apology
  • mumble an excuse
  • mumble something about
  • mumble under one's breath
  • mumble incoherently
  • mumble to oneself
Synonyms
  • mutter

    more focused on low, grumbling speech that shows annoyance or dissatisfaction — mutter often has an emotional tone

  • murmur

    softer but not necessarily unclear — murmur can be gentle and pleasant, whereas mumble always sounds muffled

  • slur

    involves running words together unclearly, often due to alcohol, tiredness, or a speech impediment — mumble is about low volume and closed lips

Antonyms
  • enunciate

    to pronounce each word clearly and distinctly, the opposite of mumbling

  • articulate

    to speak in a clear, well-structured way

Grammar Patterns

mumble + noun phrase (transitive)

mumble (no object, intransitive)

mumble + about + noun phrase

Usage Note

Frequently used in conversation to describe speech that is unclear because the speaker's mouth is barely open. Unlike whisper, mumbling is not a deliberate choice to be quiet — it usually happens because the speaker is shy, tired, embarrassed, or not paying attention to how they are speaking.

Common Mistakes

She mumbled the lyrics perfectly on stage.
She sang the lyrics perfectly on stage.
Mumble always means unclear or indistinct speech, not a clear, successful performance.
He mumbled loudly so everyone could hear the instructions.
He announced loudly so everyone could hear the instructions.
Mumbling is inherently quiet and unclear; you cannot mumble loudly and still be understood.

Word family

  • mumbling
    nounB2
  • mumbler
    nounC1
  • mumbled
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Mumble, mutter, murmur, and slur all describe unclear or quiet speech, but each carries a different tone. Mumble focuses on unclear articulation — the speaker's lips barely move, making words hard to catch; it often signals shyness or tiredness. Mutter adds a grumbling, discontented feeling — someone who mutters is usually annoyed or complaining to themselves rather than trying to communicate clearly. Murmur is soft but not necessarily unclear; it can be gentle or romantic, like murmuring a lullaby, whereas mumble always sounds muffled. Slur means words run together in a way that makes them hard to separate, commonly from alcohol or exhaustion. Compare: 'He mumbled an excuse about being late' (unclear, perhaps embarrassed) versus 'He muttered something rude under his breath' (irritated, half to himself) versus 'She murmured a quiet thank you' (soft but clear) versus 'His words were slurred after the long flight' (jumbled, hard to distinguish).

mutter ↗murmur ↗slur

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • under one's breath
  • to oneself

Prepositions

Etymology

Middle Low GermanMiddle EnglishEnglish

Mumble first appeared in English around the 1300s. It probably came from the Middle Low German word 'mummelen', which means to make a sound with a closed mouth. The sound of the word itself — with its m's and b's made by pressing the lips together — mimics the action it describes. Speakers of many languages have a similar-sounding word for the same idea, which suggests that the word was created to echo the muffled sound of mumbling.