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View synonyms for articulate

articulate

[ adjective noun ahr-tik-yuh-lit; verb ahr-tik-yuh-leyt ]

adjective

  1. uttered clearly in distinct syllables.
  2. capable of speech; not speechless.
  3. using language easily and fluently; having facility with words:

    an articulate speaker.

  4. expressed, formulated, or presented with clarity and effectiveness:

    an articulate thought.

    Synonyms: expressive

    Antonyms: unintelligible, inarticulate

  5. made clear, distinct, and precise in relation to other parts:

    an articulate form; an articulate shape; an articulate area.

  6. (of ideas, form, etc.) having a meaningful relation to other parts:

    an articulate image.

  7. having parts or distinct areas organized into a coherent or meaningful whole; unified:

    an articulate system of philosophy.

  8. Zoology. having joints or articulations; composed of segments.


verb (used with object)

, ar·tic·u·lat·ed, ar·tic·u·lat·ing.
  1. to utter clearly and distinctly; pronounce with clarity.

    Synonyms: enunciate

    Antonyms: mumble

  2. Phonetics. to make the movements and adjustments of the speech organs necessary to utter (a speech sound).
  3. to give clarity or distinction to:

    to articulate a shape; to articulate an idea.

  4. Dentistry. to position or reposition (teeth); subject to articulation.
  5. to unite by a joint or joints.
  6. to reveal or make distinct:

    an injection to articulate arteries so that obstructions can be observed by x-ray.

verb (used without object)

, ar·tic·u·lat·ed, ar·tic·u·lat·ing.
  1. to pronounce clearly each of a succession of speech sounds, syllables, or words; enunciate:

    to articulate with excessive precision.

  2. Phonetics. to articulate a speech sound.
  3. Anatomy, Zoology. to form a joint.
  4. Obsolete. to make terms of agreement.

noun

  1. a segmented invertebrate.

articulate

adjective

  1. able to express oneself fluently and coherently

    an articulate lecturer

  2. having the power of speech
  3. distinct, clear, or definite; well-constructed

    an articulate voice

    an articulate document

  4. zoology (of arthropods and higher vertebrates) possessing joints or jointed segments


verb

  1. to speak or enunciate (words, syllables, etc) clearly and distinctly
  2. tr to express coherently in words
  3. intr zoology to be jointed or form a joint
  4. tr to separate into jointed segments

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Derived Forms

  • arˈticulately, adverb
  • arˈticulateness, noun

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Other Words From

  • ar·tic·u·la·ble [ahr-, tik, -y, uh, -l, uh, -b, uh, l], adjective
  • ar·ticu·late·ly adverb
  • ar·ticu·late·ness ar·tic·u·la·cy [ahr-, tik, -y, uh, -l, uh, -see], noun
  • ar·tic·u·la·tive [ahr-, tik, -y, uh, -ley-tiv, -l, uh, -tiv], adjective
  • misar·ticu·late verb misarticulated misarticulating
  • multi·ar·ticu·late adjective
  • nonar·ticu·late adjective
  • nonar·ticu·late·ly adverb
  • nonar·ticu·late·ness noun
  • nonar·ticu·lative adjective
  • over·ar·ticu·late adjective
  • over·ar·ticu·late verb overarticulated overarticulating
  • prear·ticu·late adjective
  • pseudo·ar·ticu·late adjective
  • pseudo·ar·ticu·late·ly adverb
  • rear·ticu·late verb rearticulated rearticulating
  • semi·ar·ticu·late adjective
  • semi·ar·ticu·late·ly adverb
  • subar·ticu·late adjective
  • subar·ticu·late·ly adverb
  • subar·ticu·late·ness noun
  • subar·ticu·lative adjective
  • unar·ticu·late adjective
  • unar·ticu·late·ly adverb
  • unar·ticu·lative adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of articulate1

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin articulātus, past participle of articulāre “to divide into distinct parts”; article, -ate 1

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Word History and Origins

Origin of articulate1

C16: from Latin articulāre to divide into joints; see article

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Synonym Study

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Example Sentences

These values require constant maintenance and must be articulated over and over again in new contexts.

One response was through petition writing as women took to the pen to articulate their concerns.

From Quartz

It’s not just that the weighted vote is bad – which many smaller cities have articulated loudly and clearly for a few years now – but that the weighted vote is inappropriate for quasi-judicial decisions.

Scroll’s reason for existing has always been fairly easy to articulate.

From Digiday

He has articulated some very clear themes and tried to approach them.

I am not the most financially literate person (I would be hard-pressed to articulate the term “junk bond”).

His correspondence, much of which survives, is that of an incisive and articulate observer.

I was looking for characters, originals, people who could articulate what they were doing in colorful ways.

“No one has been able to clearly articulate why they took that out,” Miller said.

My debate partner in Virginia was articulate, educated, likable, and familiar with a vast range of relevant scientific research.

For all that, an occasional mutter came unheeded to his ears, the closed curtains preserving articulate sounds like room walls.

The infant begins its vocal utterances with simple cries; only at a later age does it begin to articulate.

The language of the Akka is of a very undeveloped type, and seems a link between articulate and inarticulate speech.

He laid his hand on his brow and more than once he groaned and muttered half-articulate expressions of repugnance.

The sick woman was lying still; her eyes wandered and her lips moved, but as yet no articulate sound issued from them.

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