utter

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈʌtə/,
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈʌtəɹ/,

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Homophones: udder (flapping), other (th-stopping + flapping)
• Rhymes: -ʌtə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: ut‧ter

The adjective is derived from Middle English outre, utter, uttre (“situated on the outside of, exterior, external, outer; more advanced, further; farthest, outermost; complete, utter; of a person: inferior; not mental or spiritual, bodily, physical”),^[1] from Old English ūtera (“exterior, outer”, literally “more out”), the comparative form of ūt (“out”),^[2][3] ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *úd (“away; out, outward; upwards”). Piecewise doublet of outer.

The noun is derived from the adjective.^[2]

utter (not comparable)

1. To the furthest or most extreme extent; absolute, complete, total, unconditional.

   Synonyms: utmost, uttermost; see also Thesaurus:total

   utter bliss    utter darkness    utter ruin

   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, , page 117, column 2:

     Oh VVarvvicke, VVarvvicke, I foreſee vvith greefe / The vtter loſſe of all the Realme of France.

   • c. 1597 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The History of Henrie the Fourth; , quarto edition, London: P S for Andrew Wise, , published 1598, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], signature G2, verso:

     But thou art altogether giuen ouer: and vvert indeede but for the light in thy face, the ſonne of vtter darkneſſe.

   • 1606, Tho Dekker, “The Deuill Let Loose, with His Answere to Pierce Pennylesse”, in Newes from Hell; , London: R. B for W. Ferebrand, , →OCLC, signature , recto:

     here are Phlegeton and Pyriphlegeton, that fall in vvith Cocytus (burning Riuers) In vvhich (tho they be dreadfull to looke vpon) are no vtter danger: If the Ferryman vvaft you ſafely, ouer the vvaters of Repentance, othervviſe theſe hot liquors vvill ſcalde you.

   • , George Herbert, “The Method”, in [Nicholas Ferrar], editor, The Temple. Sacred Poems, and Private Ejaculations, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Thomas Buck and Roger Daniel; and are to be sold by Francis Green, , →OCLC, page 127:

     And ſhould Gods eare, / VVhich needs not man, be ty'd to thoſe / VVho heare not him, but quickly heare / His utter foes?

   • 1662, Edward Stillingfleet, “The Obscurity and Defect of Ancient History”, in Origines Sacræ, or A Rational Account of the Grounds of Christian Faith, , London: R W for Henry Mortlock , →OCLC, book I, page 21:

     That vvhich I vvould novv infer from hence is, the utter impoſſibility of the Greeks giving us any certain account of ancient times, […]

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. , London: [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker ; nd by Robert Boulter ; nd Matthias Walker, , →OCLC, signature F, recto, lines 439–441:

     he void profound / Of uneſſential Night receives him next / VVide gaping, and vvith utter loſs of being / Threatens him, plung'd in that abortive gulf.

   • 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: , London: Nath Ponder , →OCLC, page 163:

     Gentlemen, ye be utter ſtrangers to me, I knovv you not, be content to follovv the Religion of your Countrey, and I vvill follovv the Religion of mine. I hope all vvill be vvell.

   • 1708, Francis Atterbury, “The Preface”, in Fourteen Sermons Preach’d on Several Occasions. , London: E. P. for Jonah Bowyer, , →OCLC, page vii:

     n this Life Beaſts have, in many reſpects, the advantage of Men; in as much as they […] are utter Strangers to all thoſe Anxious and Tormenting Thoughts, which perpetually haunt and diſquiet Mankind.

   • 1709, Mat Prior, “To the Right Honourable Lionel, Earl of Dorset and Middlesex”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: Jacob Tonson , →OCLC, page xiv:

     vvo Things that vvere his utter Averſion, the Inſinuation of a Flatterer, and the VVhiſper of a Tale-bearer.

   • 1778, [Frances Burney], “Letter XXI. Evelina in Continuation.”, in Evelina, or, A Young Lady’s Entrance into the World, volume I, London: T Lowndes, , →OCLC, page 163:

     hey had no time to ſpeak, but I ſavv they vvere in utter amazement.

   • c. 1806–1809 (date written), William Wordsworth, “Book the Seventh. The Churchyard among the Mountains Continued.”, in The Excursion, being a Portion of The Recluse, a Poem, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, , published 1814, →OCLC, page 326:

     Then, shall the slowly-gathering twilight close / In utter night; […]

   • 1849, John Ruskin, “The Lamp of Obedience”, in The Seven Lamps of Architecture, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., , →OCLC, section I, page 184:

     hough restraint, utter and unrelaxing, can never be comely, this is not because it is in itself an evil, but only because, when too great, it overpowers the nature of the thing restrained, and so counteracts the other laws of which that nature is itself composed.

   • 1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Enid”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., , →OCLC, page 84:

     Then Enid, in her utter helplessness, / […] / Sent forth a sudden sharp and bitter cry, / As of a wild thing taken in the trap, / Which sees the trapper coming thro' the wood.

   • 1911 (date written), Bernard Shaw, “Fanny’s First Play”, in Misalliance, The Dark Lady of the Sonnets, and Fanny’s First Play. , London: Constable and Company, published 1914, →OCLC, Act III, page 200:

     Of course I couldnt hold you to our engagement after that. I was writing to you to break it off. […] You must think me an utter rotter.

   • 1916 April 8–22, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Thuvia, Maid of Mars”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as “The Fair Race”, in Thuvia, Maid of Mars, Chicago, Ill.: A C McClurg & Co., October 1920, →OCLC, page 65:

     His eyes could not penetrate the darkness even to the distinguishing of his hand before his face, while the banths, he knew, could see quite well, though absence of light were utter.

   • 1930, Noël Coward, Private Lives: An Intimate Comedy in Three Acts, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, →OCLC, Act I, page 30:

     Yes. What fools we were to ruin it all. What utter, utter fools.

2. (rare) Of a substance: pure, unmixed.

   Synonym: unalloyed

   • 1876, Virgil, “Book IX”, in William Morris, transl., The Æneids of Virgil: Done into English Verse, London: Ellis and White, , →OCLC, page 254, lines 262–263:

     Two cups of utter silver wrought and rough with imagery / I give you, which my father took from wracked Arisbe's hold; […]

3. (originally Scotland) Of decisions, replies, etc.: made in an unconditional or unqualified manner; decisive, definite.
   • 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “Book VIII”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. , volume II, part II, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the Theater, published 1707, →OCLC, page 475:

     There could not then be any other eſtimate made of the loſs VValler ſuſtain'd, than by the not purſuing the viſible advantage he had, and by the utter refuſal of the Auxiliary Regiments of London and Kent, to march farther; […]

4. (obsolete)
   1. (except literary, poetic) Further out than another thing; being the exterior or outer part of something; outer, outward; also, extremely remote.

      Antonym: inner

      at the utter extremities of

      • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt  (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Matthew xxiij:, folio xxxiij, recto:

        Wo be to you ſcrybꝭ [scrybis]⸝ ãd phariſes ypocritꝭ [ypocritis]⸝ for ye make clene the vtter ſide off the cuppe⸝ and off the platter: but with in they are full of brybery and exceſſe.

      • 1558 (date written), John Strype, quoting [John White], “Num[ber] LXXXI. A Sermon Preached at the Funerals of Queen Mary: By the Bishop of Winchester.”, in Historical Memorials, Ecclesiastical and Civil, of Events under the Reign of Queen Mary I. , volume III, London: S Richardson, for John Wyat, , published 1721, →OCLC, page 279:

        And vvhile you in Time of divine Sacrifice, do faithfully and humbly, both in Heart and utter Geſture, agnize, reverence, and adore the ſame Fleſh in Subſtance, altho' unviſibly in the Sacrament, […] you thus doing, blaſpheme ſo great Myſtery, repute the Fleſh vvhereby I vvas redeemed, and the Blood of Chriſt vvhereby I vvas to be ſanctified, as a Thing common and pollute; […]

      • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. , London: [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 34, page 214:

        n hidden moth / The inner garment frett, not th’vtter touch; […]

      • 1593, Tho Nashe, Christs Teares Over Ierusalem. , London: Iames Roberts, and are to be solde by Andrewe Wise, , →OCLC, folio 68, verso:

        Lyke the Geometritians, they ſquare about poynts and lynes, and the vtter ſhevv of things.

      • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IIII, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. , part II (books IV–VI), London: [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, stanza 12, page 142:

        So forth vvithout impediment I paſt, / Till to the Bridges vtter gate I came: […]

      • 1608 February 19 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), Ben Jonson, “The Description of the Masque. With the Nuptiall Songs. Celebrating the Happy Marriage of Iohn, Lord Ramsey, Vicount Hadington, with the Lady Elizabeth Ratcliffe, Daughter to the Right Honor Robert, Earle of Sussex.  [The Hue and Cry after Cupid]”, in The Characters of Two Royall Masques. The One of Blacknesse, the Other of Beautie. , London: [George Eld] for Thomas Thorp, , published , →OCLC, signature , recto:

        […] I, that knovv Truth to bee alvvaies of one ſtature, […] cannot but ſmile at their tyranous ignorance, that vvill offer to ſlight mee, […] and giue themſelues a peremptory licence to iudge, vvho haue neuer touch'd ſo much as to the barke or vtter ſhell of any Knovvledge.

      • 1614–1615, Homer, “The Sixth Booke of Homers Odysses”, in Geo Chapman, transl., Homer’s Odysses. , London: Rich Field , for Nathaniell Butter, published 1615, →OCLC, page 93:

        And did Vlyſſes vvith all grace entreate: / Shevvd him a ſhore, vvind-proofe, and full of ſhade: / By him a ſhirt, and vtter mantle laid.

      • 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. , London: [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker ; nd by Robert Boulter ; nd Matthias Walker, , →OCLC, signatures , recto – , verso, lines 15–18:

        n my [Satan's] flight / Through utter and through middle darkneſs borne / VVith other notes then to th' Orphéan Lyre / I ſung of Chaos and Eternal Night, […]

      • 1848, Philip James Bailey, “Scene—A Ruined Temple”, in Festus: A Poem, 3rd edition, London: William Pickering, →OCLC, page 107:

        All stars are steps in the great scale of Heaven / Up to God's throne, from Time's last orb which eyes / The inner and the utter infinite […]

   2. (rare) Preceding all others; original.
      • 1634, T H, “A Discourse of the Life and Habit of the Persians at this Present”, in A Relation of Some Yeares Trauaile, Begunne Anno 1626. into Afrique and the Greater Asia, , London: William Stansby, and Jacob Bloome, →OCLC, page 144:

        And although it [Persia] has ſince then been ruined and reigned ouer by Princes of many Nations, yet they haue neuer altered the Dialect from its vtter ſence, at this day being cald Pharſee: […]

   3. (rare) Succeeding all others; final, last, ultimate.
      • 1555 July (date written; Gregorian calendar), Virgil, “The Seconde Booke”, in Thomas Phaer, transl., The Seuen First Bookes of the Eneidos of Virgill, Conuerted in Englishe Meter , London: Ihon Kyngston, for Richard Jugge, , published 7 June 1558 (Gregorian calendar), →OCLC, signature [D.iij.], verso:

        Our vtter houre is come alas, fell deſtinies death hath brought.

This adjective is often used with negative nouns (that is, those denoting undesirable things); its use with positive nouns (denoting desirable things) is less common although not rare. A synonym, sheer, is often used with either negative or positive nouns.

the utter (uncountable)

1. (rare) The thing which is most utter (adjective sense) or extreme.
   • 1584 August 5 (date written; Gregorian calendar), John Aubrey, quoting Walter Raleigh, “Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618)”, in Andrew Clark, editor, ‘Brief Lives,’ Chiefly of Contemporaries, , volume II (I–Y), Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, published 1898, →OCLC, page 192:

     I take my leave, readie to countervaile all your courtesies to the utter of my power.

     From a letter written to Mr. Duke in Devon.

From Middle English outren, utteren (“to display for sale; to market; to sell; to say, speak; to put into words, express, tell; to make known, reveal”),^[4] partly:^[5]

• from outre, utter (adjective, adverb) (see etymology 1 and etymology 3) + -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs);^[6] and
• from Middle Dutch uteren (“to announce, make known; to demonstrate, show; to speak; to drive away”) (modern Dutch uiteren); or from Middle Low German üteren, ütern (“to demonstrate, show; to speak; to sell; etc.”) (modern Low German ütern; compare Middle High German ūzeren, whence German äußern (“to express, say, utter”)), probably from Proto-West Germanic *ūtanā (“from outside or without; outside of”), from Proto-Germanic *ūtanē (“from outside or without; outside of”), from *ūt (“out; outward”) (from Proto-Indo-European *úd (“away; out, outward; upwards”)) + *-anē (suffix forming adverbs with ablative direction).

utter (third-person singular simple present utters, present participle uttering, simple past and past participle uttered)

1. Senses relating to expressing sounds, etc., or disclosing something
   1. (transitive)
      1. Sometimes preceded by forth, out, etc.: to produce (a cry, speech, or other sounds) with the voice.

         Synonyms: let out, say, speak; see also Thesaurus:speak, Thesaurus:utter

         Don’t you utter another word!

         • 1530 July 28 (Gregorian calendar), Iohan Palsgraue [i.e., John Palsgrave], “The Table of Verbes”, in Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse⸝ , : [Richard Pynson] fynnysshed by Iohan Haukyns, →OCLC, 3rd boke, folio ccclxxxxix, verso, column 2; reprinted Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, October 1972, →OCLC:

           I utter my langage or my voyce Ie profere, prime cõiuga. After your audyence utter your langage: Selon voſtre audiẽce profere; voſtre langaige.

         • 1560, [William Whittingham et al., transl.], The Bible and Holy Scriptures Conteyned in the Olde and Newe Testament.  (the Geneva Bible), Geneva: Rouland Hall, →OCLC, Prouerbes I:20, folio 267, verso:

           VViſdome cryeth vvithout: ſhe vttereth her voyce in the ſtretes.

         • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, , page 71, column 1:

           here my fathers graue / Did vtter forth a voice.

         • c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, , page 292, column 2:

           O Maſter: if you did but heare the Pedler at the doore, […] hee ſinges ſeuerall Tunes, faſter then you'l tell money: hee vtters them as he had eaten ballads, and all mens eares grevv to his Tunes.

         • 1712 September 3 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “SATURDAY, August 23, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 466; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, , volume V, New York, N.Y.: D Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 295:

           In reason's ear, they [stars] all rejoice, / And utter forth a glorious voice, / For ever singing, as they shine, / The hand that made us is divine.

           The spelling has been modernized.

         • 1748, [Tobias Smollett], “I Long to be Revenged on Melinda ”, in The Adventures of Roderick Random. , volume II, London: [William Strahan] for J Osborn , →OCLC, page 156:

           e made no other reply, for ſome time, than lifting up his eyes, claſping his hands, and uttering a hollovv groan.

         • 1800, W Wordsworth, “Michael, a Pastoral”, in Lyrical Ballads, with Other Poems. , 2nd edition, London: T N Longman and O Rees, , by Biggs and Co., , published 1800, →OCLC, page 218:

           Never to living ear came sweeter sounds / Than when I heard thee by our own fire-side / First uttering without words a natural tune, / When thou, a feeding babe, didst in thy joy / Sing at thy Mother's breast.

         • 1833 August 20, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Humour and Genius—Great Poets Good Men—Diction of the Old and New Testament Version—Hebrew—Vowels and Consonants”, in H N C, editor, Specimens of the Table Talk of the Late Samuel Taylor Coleridge. , volume II, London: John Murray, , published 1835, →OCLC, page 246:

           Brute animals have the vowel sounds; man can only utter consonants.

         • 1868, Louisa M Alcott, “Little Faithful”, in Little Women: , part first, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, published 1869, →OCLC, page 263:

           […] Laurie slyly pulled the parrot's tail, which caused Polly to utter an astonished croak, […]

         • 1868, William Morris, “August: Pygmalion and the Image”, in The Earthly Paradise: A Poem, parts , London: F S Ellis, , →OCLC, page 608:

           I have not heard thy voice but in the cry / Thou utteredst then, when thou believedst me gone / The marvel of thine hands, the maid of stone.

         • 1874, Alfred Tennyson, “Gareth and Lynette”, in Idylls of the King (The Works of Alfred Tennyson; V), cabinet edition, London: Henry S. King & Co., , →OCLC, page 79:

           What knowest thou of birds, lark, mavis, merle, / Linnet? what dream ye when they utter forth / May-music growing with the growing light, / Their sweet sun-worship?

         • 1928, Robert Byron, “Visiting”, in The Station: Athos: Treasures and Men, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A Knopf, →OCLC, page 86:

           Mark, a cheeping chorister of our schooldays, has retained, despite the blottery tenor that has displaced his treble, a habit of uttering with the suddenness of a ship’s siren, the less interesting of [Franz] Schubert's ditties.

         • 1997, Don DeLillo, “January 11, 1955”, in Underworld , New York, N.Y.: Scribner, →ISBN, page 543:

           I wanted to look up velleity and quotidian and memorize the fuckers for all time, spell them, learn them, pronounce them syllable by syllable—vocalize, phonate, utter the sounds, say the words for all they're worth.

      2. To verbally express or report (a desire or emotion, an idea or thought, etc.).

         Synonyms: declare, say, tell

         • 1582, Virgil, “The Fourth Booke of Virgil His Aeneis”, in Richard Stanyhurst, transl., The First Foure Bookes of Virgils Æneis, , London: Henrie Bynneman , published 1583, →OCLC; republished as The First Four Books of the Æneid of Virgil, , Edinburgh: , 1836, →OCLC, page 98:

           Theeſe woords, vplifting both his hands, he to Iuppiter vttred.

         • 1595, Edmunde Spenser [i.e., Edmund Spenser], “[Amoretti.] Sonnet XLVIII”, in Amoretti and Epithalamion. , London: [Peter Short] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, signature D, verso:

           VVhom ſhe all careleſſe of his griefe conſtrayned / to vtter forth th' anguiſh of his hart: […]

         • c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, , page 278, column 2:

           A clap thy ſelfe my Loue; then didſt thou vtter, / I am yours for euer.

         • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Job 15:5, column 1:

           For thy mouth vttereth thine iniquitie, and thou chooſeſt the tongue of the craftie.

         • 1651, Thomas Hobbes, “Of Power Ecclesiasticall”, in Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill, London: for Andrew Crooke, , →OCLC, 3rd part (Of a Christian Common-wealth), page 296:

           And vve read alſo of the like ceremony of Conſecration of Temples amongſt the Heathen, as that the Prieſt laid his Hands on ſome poſt of the Temple, all the vvhile he vvas uttering the vvords of Conſecration.

         • 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. , London: [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker ; nd by Robert Boulter ; nd Matthias Walker, , →OCLC, signature , verso, lines 345–347:

           The multitude of Angels vvith a ſhout / Loud as from numbers vvithout number, ſvveet / As from bleſt voices, uttering joy, […]

         • 1711 March 12 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “THURSDAY, March 1, 1710–1711”, in The Spectator, number 1; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, , volume I, New York, N.Y.: D Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, pages 82–83:

           I had not been long at the university, before I distinguished myself by a most profound silence; for, during the space of eight years, excepting in the public exercises of the college, I scarce uttered the quantity of an hundred words; and indeed do not remember that I ever spoke three sentences together in my whole life.

           The spelling has been modernized.

         • 1712 September 7 (Gregorian calendar), [Richard Steele], “WEDNESDAY, August 27, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 468; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, , volume V, New York, N.Y.: D Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 307:

           he last time I saw him, we were plotting to show the town his great capacity for acting in his full light, by introducing him as dictating to a set of young players, in what manner to speak this sentence, and utter t'other passion.

           The spelling has been modernized.

         • 1749, Henry Fielding, “The Trial of Partridge, the Schoolmaster, for Incontinency; The Evidence of his Wife; A Short Reflection on the Wisdom of Our Law; with Other Grave Matters, which Those will like Best who Understand Them Most”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume I, London: A Millar, , →OCLC, book II, page 118:

           For tho’ a few odd Fellows vvill utter their ovvn Sentiments in all Places, yet much the greater Part of Mankind have enough of the Courtier to accommodate their Converſation to the Taſte and Inclination of their Superiors.

         • 1755, [Edward Young], “Letter III. On Pleasure.”, in The Centaur Not Fabulous. , London: A Millar ; nd R and J Dodsley , →OCLC, page 161:

           His terrified imagination utter'd horrors not to be repeated, or ever forgot.

         • 1793, William Cowper, “[Miscellaneous Poems.] To Mary (Mrs Unwin)”, in The Poetical Works of William Cowper. , volume II, Edinburgh: James Nichol, ; London: James Nisbet and Co. , published 1854, →OCLC, page 184, line stanza 6:

           Thy indistinct expressions seem / Like language utter'd in a dream: / Yet me thy charm, whate'er the theme, / My Mary!

         • 1816, Jedadiah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter XV, in Tales of My Landlord, , volume I (The Black Dwarf), Edinburgh: [James Ballantyne and Co.] for William Blackwood, ; London: John Murray, , →OCLC, page 282:

           […] I am equally resolved to stand the hazard of my fate—on one condition only he will turn aside from his purpose, and that condition my lips shall never utter to you.

         • 1871–1872, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter LXXXIII, in Middlemarch , volume IV, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book VIII, page 323:

           Each had been full of thoughts which neither of them could begin to utter.

         • 1881, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “Tom Receives Instructions”, in The Prince and the Pauper: A Tale for Young People of All Ages, Montreal, Que.: Dawson Brothers, →OCLC:

           Peace, my lord, thou utterest treason! Hast forgot the king's command? Remember I am party to thy crime, if I but listen.

         • 1959, Muriel Spark, chapter 14, in Max Gissen, editor, Memento Mori, Time Reading Program special edition, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., published 1964, →OCLC, page 213:

           "Your master," he declared, "has uttered a damnable lie about a dead friend of mine."

      3. (reflexive) To express (oneself) in speech or writing.
         • a. 1627 (date written), Francis , “An Essay on Death, ”, in The Remaines of the Right Honorable Francis Lord Verulam , London: B. Alsop, for Lawrence Chapman, , published 1648, →OCLC, page 9:

           ovv and then nature is a fault, and this good gueſt of ours takes ſoyle in an unperfect body, and ſo is ſlackned from ſhevving her vvonders, like an excellent Muſician vvhich cannot utter himſelf upon a defective inſtrument.

           A figurative use.

         • 1711 July 28 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “TUESDAY, July 17, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 119; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, , volume II, New York, N.Y.: D Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 136:

           t present several of our men of the town, and particularly those who have been polished in France, make use of the most coarse uncivilized words in our language, and utter themselves often in such a manner as a clown would blush to hear.

           The spelling has been modernized.

         • 1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Grave Reflections of a Disappointed Man”, in Tales of a Traveller, part 2 (Buckthorne and His Friends), Philadelphia, Pa.: H C Carey & I Lea, , →OCLC, page 169:

           I had tried to write a poetical epitaph, but in vain: my feelings refused to utter themselves in rhyme.

         • 1860, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Extinction of a Lamp”, in The Marble Faun: Or, The Romance of Monte Beni. , volume II, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 203:

           Straying with Hilda through those long vistas of ideal beauty, he meant, at last, to utter himself upon that theme which lovers are fain to discuss in village-lanes, in wood-paths, on seaside sands, in crowded streets; […]

      4. (figurative) Of a thing: to produce (a noise or sound); to emit.

         Synonym: let out

         Sally’s car uttered a hideous shriek when she applied the brakes.

      5. (obsolete) To disclose or reveal (something secret or unknown); to bring to light.
         • 1530 July 28 (Gregorian calendar), Iohan Palsgraue [i.e., John Palsgrave], “The Table of Verbes”, in Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse⸝ , : [Richard Pynson] fynnysshed by Iohan Haukyns, →OCLC, 3rd boke, folio ccclxxxix, verso, column 2; reprinted Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, October 1972, →OCLC:

           He that vttereth my counſayle ones I wyll neuer truſte hym whyle I lyue: […]

         • 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], “Of the Expedition of Cyrus the Yonger”, in The Historie of the World , London: William Stansby for Walter Burre, , →OCLC, 3rd book, §. XIII (Of Dissention which Arose in the Armie; and How It was Embarked), page 125:

           Silanus the Sooth-ſayer, vvho had vttered Xenophons purpoſe, vvas hereby ſtaied from out-running his fellovves, and driuen to abide vvith his vvealth among poore men, longer than ſtood vvith his good liking.

         • 1670, Izaak Walton, quoting John Spenser, “The Life of Mr. Rich Hooker, the Author of Those Learned Books of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity”, in The Lives of Dr. John Donne, Sir Henry Wotton, Mr. Richard Hooker, Mr. George Herbert. , volume III, London: Tho Newcomb for Rich Marriott, , →OCLC, page 88:

           ith vvhat gravity and Majeſty of ſpeech his Tongue and Pen uttered Heavenly Myſteries; […]

      6. (obsolete, also reflexive) To disclose or reveal the identity or nature of (oneself or someone, or something).
         • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt  (Tyndale Bible), hen the unclean spirits saw him [Jesus], they fell down before him, and cried saying: thou art the son of God: And he straightly charged them that they should not utter him.