Ways of Speaking

Question	Answer
Hesitate	To be slow to speak (or act) because one is uncertain or unwilling to talk. He hesitated before answering my question.
Whisper	To speak softly, without vibrating the vocal cords, privately or secretly. She whispered the secret word in my ear.
Hiss	To say something in a loud whisper. (Snakes also hiss). 'Get out!' she hissed at me furiously.
Mumble	To speak unclearly, so that others can't hear. He mumbled something at me which I didn't understand.
Mutter	To speak in a low voice, which is hard to hear. She was muttering something to herself as she went out.
Hum	To make a low continuous sound, when you take a long time deciding what to say. She hummed at the beginning of the oral exam.
Grunt	To make short sounds or say a few words in a rough voice, when you don't want to talk. (Pigs also grunt). She grunted a few words and left the table.
Stammer	To speak with pauses and repeating the same sound or syllable, habitually or from fear or excitement. 'P-p-please give me the p-p-pen,' he stammered.
Stutter	To stammer. 'P-p-please give me the p-p-pen,' he stuttered.
Quaver	To speak tremulously, because you are nervous or upset. Her voice quavered for a moment but then she regained control.
Lisp	To speak with /th/ sounds instead of /s/ sounds. You're very thilly, Thimon. (You're very silly, Simon.)
Babble = Gabble = Gibber = Jabber	To talk foolishly, in a way difficult to understand. Her fever made her babble without stopping.
Ramble	To talk continuously, in a confused way. Stop rambling and get to the point, please!
Slur	To speak unclearly, without separating the words correctly. He was so drunk that he slurred to the bartender for more.
Chat	To have a friendly informal conversation. They chatted away in the corner.
Chatter	To talk quickly and at length about something unimportant. Please stop chattering, I'm trying to listen to the TV!
Gossip	To talk about the affairs of other people. She was gossiping about her neighbours all day.
Call	To speak in a loud clear voice, shout, cry. They called for help.
Shout	To speak in a loud voice, in anger or to get attention. He had to shout because the music was too loud.
Whoop	To shout loudly and happily. The children whooped when we entered the fair.
Cry (out)	To make a sharp noise, in pain or surprise. She cried out in terror when the old man appeared suddenly.
Yell	To cry out loudly, in fear, pain or excitement. She yelled in terror when she saw the dead cat.
Scream	To cry out very loudly on a high note, in fear, pain, anger or laughter. The baby was screaming the whole day.
Shriek: scream. The men shrieked with laughter.	To scream. The men shrieked with laughter.
Bellow	To shout in a deep voice. The captain bellowed orders at the crew.
Squeak	To speak in a high-pitched voice. She squeaked out a few words nervously.
Squeal	To speak in a high-pitched voice, with longer and louder sounds than in a squeak. 'Let me go!' she squealed.
Whine	To complain in a sad, annoying voice about something. 'I don't want to go,' whined Peter.
Chirp	To speak in a happy high voice. 'All finished!' she chirped.
Cheer	To shout because of happiness. The public cheered when the team appeared.
Croak	To speak with a deep hoarse voice. She had such a terrible cold that she could only croak.
Blurt out	To say something suddenly and tactlessly. She blurted out the bad news before I could stop her.
Snap	To say something quickly in an angry way. 'What do you want?' the waiter snapped.
Splutter	To talk quickly in short confused phrases, in anger or surprise. 'But... what... where... how could you?' she spluttered.
Bark (out)	To say something quickly in a loud voice. 'What do you want?' the shop assistant barked.

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	Created by Javier Quintanilla over 2 years ago