without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers
<adj.all> an arrant fool a complete coward a consummate fool a double-dyed villain gross negligence a perfect idiot pure folly what a sodding mess stark staring mad a thoroughgoing villain utter nonsense the unadulterated truth
complete
<adj.all> came to a dead stop utter seriousness
Utter \Ut"ter\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Uttered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Uttering}.] [OE. outren, freq. of outen to utter, put out, AS. [=u]tian to put out, eject, fr. [=u]t out. [root]198. See {Out}, and cf. {Utter}, a.] 1. To put forth or out; to reach out. [Obs.]
How bragly [proudly] it begins to bud, And utter his tender head. --Spenser.
2. To dispose of in trade; to sell or vend. [Obs.]
Such mortal drugs I have, but Mantua's law Is death to any he that utters them. --Shak.
They bring it home, and utter it commonly by the name of Newfoundland fish. --Abp. Abbot.
3. hence, to put in circulation, as money; to put off, as currency; to cause to pass in trade; -- often used, specifically, of the issue of counterfeit notes or coins, forged or fraudulent documents, and the like; as, to utter coin or bank notes.
The whole kingdom should continue in a firm resolution never to receive or utter this fatal coin. --Swift.
4. To give public expression to; to disclose; to publish; to speak; to pronounce. ``Sweet as from blest, uttering joy.'' --Milton.
The words I utter Let none think flattery, for they 'll find 'em truth. --Shak.
And the last words he uttered called me cruel. --Addison.
Syn: To deliver; give forth; issue; liberate; discharge; pronounce. See {Deliver}.
Utter \Ut"ter\, a. [OE. utter, originally the same word as outer. See {Out}, and cf. {Outer}, {Utmost}.] 1. Outer. ``Thine utter eyen.'' --Chaucer. [Obs.] ``By him a shirt and utter mantle laid.'' --Chapman.
As doth an hidden moth The inner garment fret, not th' utter touch. --Spenser.
2. Situated on the outside, or extreme limit; remote from the center; outer. [Obs.]
Through utter and through middle darkness borne. --Milton.
The very utter part pf Saint Adelmes point is five miles from Sandwich. --Holinshed.
They . . . are utter strangers to all those anxious thoughts which disquiet mankind. --Atterbury.
4. Peremptory; unconditional; unqualified; final; as, an utter refusal or denial. --Clarendon.
{Utter bar} (Law), the whole body of junior barristers. See {Outer bar}, under 1st {Outer}. [Eng.]
{Utter barrister} (Law), one recently admitted as barrister, who is accustomed to plead without, or outside, the bar, as distinguished from the benchers, who are sometimes permitted to plead within the bar. [Eng.] --Cowell.
For reasons ranging from federalism to fatalism, the feelings stirred by the drought differ from the utter despair that gripped the agricultural Midwest as recently as 1984.
There's only a teacher in need of assistance or help, a sabbatical or something." Bennett called that "just utter nonsense or drivel.
Most clients "believe they can afford some short-term losses" as long as portfolio insurance protects them from an utter wipeout, Prof.
There are surprising Teutonic twists to the grammar, and the characters utter quirky slang and turns of phrase so authentic-sounding they could either be completely accurate or totally invented.
Geagea held a news conference and called Aoun, "Mad, a liar, an utter fool in politics." "You shouldn't think you can finish us off. We shall fight you 100 years," he said.
What an utter pleasure to drive such a well-designed, well-built car.
"Where is the sense of justice and fairness when the present media have already convicted President Marcos of these charges in utter and flagrant disregard of previous findings proving the contrary?" he said.
We shall be gorging ourselves: and at our elbows, all around the table, not getting a scrap, will be starving children, with the elephant eyes and corrugated ribs of utter impoverishment.
"Because right now," Schmitz added, "it's in utter chaos." Two years ago he wore tailored suits and dined at the Harvard Club.
"The issue here is not PAC money in general," Smith said. "The issue here is the utter hypocrisy of taking PAC money and saying you're not." Durkin calls it ridiculous to compare the two kinds of contributions.
Yet he does so chiefly by having his characters utter reams of windy, fatuous pseudo-profundities about the Earth and the cosmos.
I was an utter bungler - my casting was inept, my knowledge of basic entomology negligible, my ignorance of technnique absolute.
"You will have new ideas coming into a system which is an absolute, utter mess," he says.
Neither leftist party could bring itself to utter the specific words, but the message was clear _ everything must be done in the second round to keep the National Front from winning seats in the National Assembly.
Rather than utter a single complete sentence, the film flashed the words of current rock lyrics over images of the culprits: "LIES, LIES, LIES" over President Reagan's face; "GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS" over the faces of Fawn Hall and Donna Rice.
It has been argued that it is better for a person to read at any level of quality, even utter trash, than to read nothing.
Neil Kinnock, leader of the opposition Labor Party, blamed the affair on "the utter incompetence of the prime minister." Labor's treasury spokesman John Smith asked, "Why didn't she get rid of Walters before and keep Lawson?
Memory of the utter horror of that moment and the long flight back to base can never be erased.
And we shall utter something suitable, a mantra as it were - perhaps 'God bless John Major.' I mentioned my scheme to Miss Lee.
Their wives and children utter the predictable Hollywood babble wives and children (in Hollywood, anyway) mutter when stuck in the woods with two people who just don't get along.
Japan and Germany turned to democracy after utter defeat in World War II and have benefitted greatly from that change.
The Chicago action is part of a trend on campuses across the nation to punish those who utter remarks deemed disparaging to racial and ethnic groups.
I must express my utter disgust for your printing such articles.
We order fish To keep us lean: Cholesterol's low, The fat's unseen; And then the chef (With hauteur utter) Drapes it in sauces Of cream and butter.
Despite my cheat sheet, I've forgotten to utter the intermediate call "walk and dodge."
"The law across the country is in a state of utter chaos," Mr. Gostin said.
The result, in part, has been an utter collapse of productivity during the past quarter century.
I think it's going to be utter chaos," said Christen Dingman, 40, of Chatsworth, who has two sons in school. "The teachers are being greedy." Instructors want a two-year contract with a 21 percent wage increase.
"Today would have been an ideal opportunity for solving the AWB's serious problems, but the meeting has been turned into an utter farce," Alberts said.
This fact produces columns of letters to newspapers suggesting solutions which are disturbing in their blend of concern for wildlife management - and their utter ignorance of that same subject.