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 )

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of utterance¹

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

Example Sentences

His utterances on the right to privacy and right to dissent were extensively praised.

From BBC

The word “hate” has become Trump’s signature utterance.

From Salon

Yet his public utterances, before and since he became deputy president, have at times been seen as blunders or straight-up disgraceful comments.

From BBC

There are senior figures, inevitably, who behind the scenes have quietly pointed out the issues with some of Ben Sulayem's own public utterances.

From BBC

For example, during a rally in Montana on Friday, Trump appears to “glitch” and pause as he searches for words and then makes unintelligible noises and strange utterances.

From Salon

Related Words

• assertion
• pronouncement