grunting 1 of 2

noun

as in muttering
speech that is not clear enough to be understood says he talks in his sleep, but really it's just snorts and grunting

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grunting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of grunt
as in mumbling
to speak softly and unclearly was so absorbed with the video game that when asked what he wanted for dinner, he just grunted

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of grunting
Noun
By pulling this string, the locals made an amplified grunting noise similar to that of a jaguar. — Delbert L. Chears, Outdoor Life, 5 Mar. 2026
Verb
Lee is forever grunting and scratching and clearing his throat. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026 Abrams does yeoman’s work with a character stuck in a tight spot for most of the running time, constantly grunting and gasping with a mixture of anguish and exhaustion as his body gets progressively more beat up and broken. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026 Blocking and grunting turned into gasping as Roach sacked Bo Nix for a safety, putting his own football life in jeopardy. — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 6 Sep. 2026 More than 200 walruses were hauled out on the beach, grunting and groaning, wriggling and jostling for position. — Sarah Kingdom, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026 The statue is dragged via ropes by grunting Trojans before being lurched upright against a sacred temple, once again jostling those inside. — David MacK, CNN Money, 18 July 2026 Roaring and grunting, his body sleek with blood and sweat, Conan tussles and grapples with a series of opponents, dominating them all, while an audience of torch-wielding vulgarians shouts and howls at the pit’s lip. — Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 15 June 2026 Once their tray was stuffed with Terry Black’s brisket, pork ribs, dino ribs, sausage and turkey, Heder and Ramirez both carried the tray off the table, grunting. — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Mar. 2026 Immediately as Silva got out of his SUV, he was shot in the hand and soon after in the head, grunting and groaning in pain as blood spatter suddenly appeared on his uniform sleeve. — Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 2 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grunting
  1. muttering
  2. mumbling
  3. grunt
  4. murmuring
  5. mutter
  6. whisper
Noun
  • From the first take to the last, the scene evolves quite dramatically, and the final take is the one that most closely resembles the scene in the finished episode (though, sadly, Ned’s introductory muttering seems to have been cut for time).
    — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Sep. 2026
  • The opportunity to send a raucous Bell Centre crowd home muttering was there in Game 3.
    — Eduardo A. Encina, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2026
Definition of muttering
Verb
  • Later that day, Rowley was drenched in sweat, rocking back and forth and mumbling incoherently as the poison – later identified as Novichok, a Russian nerve agent – took hold of him, too.
    — Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
  • Next up, maybe lawmakers can do something about overly soft, mumbling dialogue preceded by deafening explosions.
    — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 25 June 2026
Definition of mumbling
Noun
  • But eventually those thoughts were interrupted by a distant grunt.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The tools can handle the grunt work, but people need to be doing the work that was worth paying for in the first place.
    — Fernando Bergás-Coria, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of grunt
Verb
  • Though, it perhaps must be said that Johnson’s glazed-over, murmuring style of line delivery does grow grating.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
  • During a mound visit in the top of the first inning with the Colorado Rockies already trailing the Arizona Diamondbacks by two runs, a lone voice of encouragement emerged from an otherwise restless and murmuring crowd at Coors Field.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of murmuring
Noun
  • Alice questions Mira while Frank mutters completely unhelpful asides from behind the glass partition.
    — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 28 July 2026
  • Six mutters and sighs and rolls his head as if profoundly exasperated.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 May 2026
Definition of mutter
Noun
  • The landscape flowed in ridges and mountains of faded yellow and whisper pink, where welwitschia–large, low-lying plants that live to be hundreds of years old–sprawled like relics from a Dune film set.
    — Samantha Falewée, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Oct. 2026
  • SteelSeries Gaming Keyboard Deal Keep your keystrokes whisper-quiet and lightning-fast using the SteelSeries Apex 3 TKL Gaming Keyboard.
    — Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of whisper

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Cite this Entry

“Grunting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grunting. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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