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blurt out

B1 neutral separable transitive
In simple words

To say something accidentally before you have time to think about whether you should.

Meanings

1 B1 neutral

To suddenly say something without thinking, especially something you were supposed to keep private.

"She blurted out the surprise party details before anyone could stop her."

"'I am the Half-Blood Prince,' he blurted out."

— J.K. Rowling, 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' (2005)
Grammar: separable
2 B1 neutral

To suddenly say the first thing that comes to mind without considering how it sounds or its effect on others.

"He blurted out that her dress looked old-fashioned and immediately regretted it."

Grammar: separable
Usage notes

Almost always used with direct speech or a noun phrase as the object (e.g. 'blurt out a secret', 'blurt out that…'). The action is involuntary or impulsive. Very common in storytelling and narrative.

Commonly used with

secret name answer truth confession feelings

Forms

Base
blurt out
I/you/we/they
3rd person
blurts out
he/she/it
Past simple
blurted out
yesterday
Past participle
blurted out
have + pp
-ing form
blurting out
continuous

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Synonyms

let slip come out with exclaim burst out with spill reveal accidentally

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