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munter

/ ˈmʌntə /

noun

  1. slang.
    an unattractive person
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of munter1

C20: of unknown origin
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Example Sentences

During our interview, Munter criticized the way White House officials approached Pakistan.

“When I get calls from the White House, they say, ‘Dial up the pain,’” Munter tells me.

Munter wanted the ability to sign off on drone strikes—and, when necessary, block them.

Munter—who grew up in Claremont, Calif.—was no stranger to geopolitical hot spots even before he took the Pakistan job.

The question of whether Munter should have had the ability to stop drone strikes was complicated.

Until this knotty question is satisfactorily solved, they forbear pronouncing the last munter or prayer.

Never before was Assessor Munter so cheerful, so comically cross with all mankind.

Munter tore off his coat, and opened a vein at the very moment in which he lost all consciousness.

I have spoken with Munter on the subject; he has prescribed for me, and does not think it of much consequence.

Jeremias Munter had placed himself in a corner, and was quiet, and seemed depressed.

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About This Word

What else does munter mean?

Munter is a British insult for a person, often a woman, who is considered extremely ugly.

How is munter pronounced?

[muhn-ter]

Where does munter come from?

The British munter, first recorded in the 1990s, has an unknown origin, but there are several theories.

One is that munter comes from the Scottish-derived slang minger (“a stinker, stupid person”), also recorded in the 1990s. Another supposes munter came from the early 20th-century South African slang munt or muntu, a racial slur for Black South Africans. Yet another theory connects it to British, Australian, and New Zealand slang munted, meaning “intoxicated” or “destroyed.”

Discussions in the 1990s on a Usenet rave forum supports the munted theory. Users identified munter as early the 1990s as British student slang for a “drug user.” How munter went from “drug user” to “ugly person” is unclear, though it isn’t too hard to draw a line from “intoxicated” to “unpleasant.”

By the 2000s, munter was established as coarse British slang for an “ugly person,” especially a woman, with various colorful, shall we say, descriptions of what a munter looks like on Urban Dictionary.

How is munter used in real life?

When you hear munter, expect the speaker to be British. And, expect the object of the insult—often women—to be considered very unattractive.

Munter is also sometimes used to humorously describe other hideous things, such as animals or cars.

More examples of munter:

“A sexist police sergeant has kept his job despite being found guilty of misconduct for referring to a female job hunter as an ‘ugly munter.’”
—Rhett Allain, Wired, March 2018

Note

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.

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