articulate
verb · adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Able to express ideas clearly and well.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ahrtikyuhlaytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɑɹˈtɪkjəleɪt
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
ambitransitive
Speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way
ambitransitive
To speak clearly; to enunciate.
ambitransitive
Express or state clearly
transitive
To make clear or effective.
transitive
To explain; to put into words; to make something specific.
transitive
To bend or hinge something at intervals, or to allow or build something so that it can bend.
adjective
Speaking in a clear and effective manner; having both good articulation and good elocution.
Expressing yourself easily or characterized by clear expressive language
Consisting of segments held together by joints
Consisting of segments united by joints.
Distinctly marked off.
noun
zoology
An animal of the subkingdom Articulata.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way
Used this way, articulate is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use articulate
- “I like this painting, but I can't articulate why.”verb
- “I wish he'd articulate his words more clearly.”verb
- “The lower jaw articulates with the skull at the temporomandibular joint.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Consisting of segments held together by joints.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A ladder consisting of segments (usually four) that are held together by joints that can lock in place.
A truck consisting of a tractor and trailer together.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A joint so articulated as to move freely.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Antonyms
Sense: speaking in a clear and effective manner
Word Forms
Articulate · Articulated · Articulation · Articulately
Where This Word Comes From
From Latin 'articulare', meaning to divide into joints, to speak distinctly.
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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.