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article

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A part of speech that indicates, specifies and limits a noun.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ahrtuhkuhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɑɹtəkəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. grammar

    A part of speech that indicates, specifies and limits a noun (a, an, or the in English). In some languages the article may appear as an ending (e.g. definite article in Swedish) or there may be none (e.g. Russian, Pashto).

  2. A piece of nonfiction writing such as a story, report, opinion piece, or entry in a newspaper, magazine, journal, encyclopedia, etc.

  3. An object, a member of a group or class.

  4. A part or segment of something joined to other parts, or, in combination, forming a structured set.

  5. An authentic thing, as opposed to an imitation.

verb

  1. Bind by a contract; especially for a training period

  2. transitive

    To bind by articles of apprenticeship.

  3. To formulate in articles; to set forth in distinct particulars.

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A part of speech that indicates, specifies and limits a noun (a, an, or the in English). In some languages the article may appear as an ending (e.g. definite article in Swedish) or there may be none (e.g. Russian, Pashto).

Used this way, article is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a grammar or language-study use: it describes how language works, so it appears in teaching and reference writing.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Specialist/technical
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Specialized
Connotation
Clinical and technical
Usage feel
Technical and specialized

Where it naturally appears

  • Academic writing
  • Education/classroom
  • Technical/specialist writing

Usage note

In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use article

  • “I read an interesting article about renewable energy sources today.”noun

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.