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Glite Dictionary
stammery response

stammery response

8.2
A hesitant reply that shows nervousness or trouble speaking
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : respuesta tartamuda
  • Her stammery response made it clear she was unprepared for the interview.

Examples

  • He tried to hide his anxiety, but his stammery response gave him away.

  • When asked about his whereabouts, his stammery response only raised more suspicion.

  • Her answer was a stammery response to the difficult question.

  • The teacher noticed his stammery response during the presentation.

  • He tried to hide his anxiety, but his stammery response gave him away when the teacher asked about the homework.

  • During the questioning, her stammery response revealed her nervousness about the topic.

  • When confronted with the unexpected question, his stammery response made it clear he hadn't studied properly.

How Hesitant

stammery response
  • UK
8.2
to pause
346 1.0

Surface Forms

stammery response singular
stammery responses plural

Morphology

stammery + response

The sense 'hesitant or faltering reply' follows straightforwardly from combining 'stammer' (to speak with involuntary pauses) plus the adjectival -y implying 'characterized by' with 'response' (a reply). Although 'stammery' is nonstandard/rare in dictionaries, the morphological composition is productive and a learner who recognises the parts can infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Stammery response gives a clear image: someone tries to answer but repeats sounds and stops a lot—the stammery part is the broken speech and the response is the answer. So, it came to mean 'a hesitant or nervous reply'.