clutter

Noun

1. (uncountable) A confused disordered jumble of things.
2. (uncountable) Background echoes, from clouds etc., on a radar or sonar screen.
3. (alt-of, alternative, countable) Alternative form of clowder (“collective noun for cats”).
4. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Clatter; confused noise.
5. (countable, uncountable) A Sperner family.

Verb

1. (transitive) To fill something with clutter.
2. (intransitive, obsolete) To clot or coagulate, like blood.
3. (intransitive) To make a confused noise; to bustle.
4. (intransitive, transitive) To utter words hurriedly, especially (but not exclusively) as a speech disorder (compare cluttering).

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈklʌtə(ɹ)/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: cloteren

Cognate with Welsh: cludair

In summary

From Middle English cloteren (“to form clots; coagulate; heap on”), from clot (“clot”), equivalent to clot + -er (frequentative suffix). Compare Welsh cludair (“heap, pile”), cludeirio (“to heap”).

Synonyms

disorder

disarray

confusion

jumble

muddle

chaos

mess

noise

disarrange

confuse

welter

litter

fuddle

derange

sound

🔉

cram

rejection

pack

smother

tangle

clutter up

mix up

mare’s nest

muss

disorganize

disarrangement

stir

chowder

bike

🚲

cartload

buzz

bewilderment

ataxia

busyness

bustle

bevy

business

bury

bed

🛏️

ascension

affray

bunch

confect

building

battery

🔋

corps

covey

concoct

crowd

compound