From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishutterut‧ter1 /ˈʌtə $ -ər/ ●○○ adjective [only before noun] COMPLETELYcomplete – used especially to emphasize that something is very bad, or that a feeling is very strong That’s utter nonsense! This company treats its employees with utter contempt. I watched in complete and utter horror as he pulled out a gun. fifteen years of utter confusion
Examples from the Corpus
utter• They were ... yes I now concede, complete and utter bozos.• He was forced to return to the earth alone, in utter desolation.• Instead he would gaze at the jury, his face an impassive study in utter disbelief.• Hence the complete and utter mental breakdown of whoever contracts the disease.• She treated herself with what seemed like utter severity.• When designer Rei Kawakubo tucks pillows under blouses and shows her collection in utter silence, simple clothes become disconcerting theater.• We padded through those quiet, leafy roads in utter silence.• A specific point of view of a space, in a fleeting moment of time, could be held in utter stillness.complete and utter• They were ... yes I now concede, complete and utter bozos.• That's complete and utter hogwash.• A complete and utter lack of vision.• Hence the complete and utter mental breakdown of whoever contracts the disease.• I had risen above him and was now in the state of dung-hai, or complete and utter superiority to Quigley.utterutter2 ●○○ verb [transitive] formal 1 SAYto say something ‘You fool!’ she uttered in disgust. Cantor nodded without uttering a word.2 SAYto make a sound with your voice, especially with difficulty The wounded prisoner uttered a groan.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
utter• But as they passed him, their eyes and gestures... silently declared what their lips were forbidden to utter.• I we pointed out that deictic elements of the utterances can only be interpreted with respect to the context in which they are uttered.• Speechreading develops a sensitive awareness of the speaker, not merely of the words he utters.• When he did utter a word or two, rarely, his voice was coarse and stern.• No one had ever heard Thomas utter an unkind word.• I am not free to utter any fancied measurements I please.• The peasants, having just come out to the fields, turn back, uttering loud cries.uttering ... word• Alexander, being a very determined man, went the next two weeks hardly uttering a word.• Kersey lit a cigarette; before uttering a word he was finding out how the accountant reacted to boorish police tactics.• It does not even protect a man from an injunction against uttering words that may have all the effect of force.• Both players were ejected and were seen uttering words to each other walking off the court.• She said Brown had ordered the office to implement the program without uttering a word to the press.Origin utter1 Old English utera “further out, outer”, from ut “out” utter2 (1300-1400) Middle Dutch uteren “to speak, make known” 