yammer
/'jæmə/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb (intransitive):
- To complain in a persistent, whining, or fretful manner: To express dissatisfaction or annoyance with repeated, often high-pitched, vocal complaints.
- To utter loud, prolonged, and sometimes mournful cries: To make a continuous, loud, and often discordant noise, typically used to describe the sounds of certain animals.
Usage and Examples
- Complaining whiningly:
- The toddler began to yammer about being tired.
- He would yammer on for hours about the unfairness of the new policy.
- Crying loudly (of animals):
- The foxes yammered in the woods all night.
- From the valley, we could hear the wolves yammering.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- "to yammer on (about something)": To talk or complain at length in an annoying, repetitive, or whining way.
- She yammered on about her computer problems until I had to leave the room.
- The word often carries a negative connotation, implying the sound or speech is irritating, pointless, or excessive.
Variants and Related Words
- Yammering (noun/adj): The act or sound of yammering; characterized by yammering.
- The constant yammering from the next office was distracting.
- Yammerer (noun): A person who yammers.
- He's known in the office as a chronic yammerer.
Synonyms
- Whine: To complain in a feeble or petulant way.
- Kvetch: (Informal) To complain habitually.
- Howl: To utter a loud, prolonged, mournful cry (for the animal sense).
- Bellow: To emit a deep loud roar.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions
- Yammer away: Similar to "yammer on," meaning to continue yammering.
- He just yammered away on the phone without listening.
Idioms and Fixed Phrases
- While "yammer" itself is not commonly the base of idioms, the construction "yammering on" is a fixed phrase indicating tedious, lengthy complaint or talk.
- I wish he'd stop yammering on about the good old days.
Verb
- complain whiningly
- cry loudly, as of animals
- The coyotes were howling in the desert