articulate

²ar·tic·u·late

verb \är-ˈti-kyə-ˌlāt\

ar·tic·u·lat·edar·tic·u·lat·ing

Definition of ARTICULATE

transitive verb

1

a : to give clear and effective utterance to : put into words <articulate one's grievances> b : to utter distinctly <articulating each note in the musical phrase> c : to give definition to (as a shape or object) <shades of gray were chosen to articulate different spaces — Carol Vogel> d : to give shape or expression to (as a theme or concept) <a drama that uses eerie props to articulate a sense of foreboding>

2

a : to unite by or as if by means of a joint : joint b : to form or fit into a systematic whole <articulating a program for all school grades>

intransitive verb

1

: to utter clear and understandable sounds

2

: to become united or connected by or as if by a joint

— ar·tic·u·la·tive \-lə-tiv, -ˌlā-\ adjective

— ar·tic·u·la·tor \-ˌlā-tər\ noun

Examples of ARTICULATE

1. He had some trouble articulating his thoughts.
2. We disagree with the views articulated by the administration.
3. a theory first articulated by ancient philosophers
4. the bones that articulate with the clavicle
5. She was shocked, she told me, to see that he insisted on talking about her ideas—and about the pains and hopes that gave rise to them. “The only way to keep it is to give it away,” he told her, articulating and enacting the essence of altruism. —Joshua Wolf Shenk, Atlantic, June 2009
6. “Fiction just doesn't interest me,” one 41-year-old construction worker told CNN. “If I'm going to get a story, I'll get a movie,” he said, articulating an attitude surely shared by many others in our media-saturated world. —Sara Nelson, Publishers Weekly, 27 Aug. 2007
7. Erudite, elderly, and introspective, one of my patients articulates clearly some of today's dilemmas facing both alcoholic patients and their physicians. —Thomas L. Delbanco, Journal of the American Medical Association, 13 Mar. 1996

Origin of ARTICULATE

(see ¹articulate)

First Known Use: 1551

Related to ARTICULATE

Synonyms: enunciate

Related Words: express, pronounce, say, speak, talk, tell, utter, verbalize, vocalize, voice; speak out, speak up

Near Antonyms: falter, grunt, halt, hesitate, maunder, splutter, sputter, stammer, stumble, stutter; mouth, mumble, murmur, mutter, whisper; breathe, drawl, gasp

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Rhymes with ARTICULATE

abbreviate, abominate, accelerate, accentuate, accommodate, acculturate, accumulate, adjudicate, adulterate, affiliate, agglomerate, alienate, alleviate, alliterate, amalgamate, ameliorate, amyl nitrate, annihilate, annunciate, anticipate, apostolate, appreciate, appropriate, approximate, arpeggiate, asphyxiate, assassinate, asseverate, assimilate, associate, at any rate, attenuate, authenticate, barbiturate, bicarbonate, calumniate, capacitate, capitulate, catholicate, certificate, coagulate, coelenterate, collaborate, commemorate, commiserate, communicate, compassionate, concatenate, conciliate, confabulate, confederate, conglomerate, congratulate, consolidate, contaminate, cooperate, coordinate, corroborate, deactivate, debilitate, decapitate, decelerate, decerebrate, deconcentrate, deconsecrate, decorticate, decrepitate, de-escalate, defibrinate, defoliate, degenerate, deliberate, delineate, demodulate, denominate, depopulate, depreciate, deracinate, deregulate, desegregate, desiderate, detoxicate, devaluate, diaconate, dilapidate, discriminate, disintegrate, disseminate, dissimulate, dissociate, domesticate, effectuate, ejaculate, elaborate, electroplate, eliminate, elucidate, emaciate, emancipate, emasculate, encapsulate, enumerate, enunciate, episcopate, equivocate, eradicate, etiolate, evacuate, evaluate, evaporate, eventuate, eviscerate, exacerbate, exaggerate, exasperate, excited state, excogitate, excoriate, exfoliate, exhilarate, exonerate, expatiate, expatriate, expectorate, expostulate, expropriate, extenuate, exterminate, extrapolate, facilitate, felicitate, fish or cut bait, garrison state, gesticulate, habilitate, habituate, hallucinate, humiliate, hydrogenate, hypothecate, illuminate, impersonate, inactivate, inaugurate, incarcerate, incinerate, incorporate, incriminate, indoctrinate, inebriate, infatuate, infuriate, ingratiate, ingurgitate, initiate, inoculate, inseminate, insinuate, instantiate, intercalate, interpolate, interrelate, interrogate, intimidate, intoxicate, invalidate, investigate, invigorate, irradiate, Italianate, Korea Strait, lanceolate, legitimate, luxuriate, mandarinate, manipulate, matriarchate, matriculate, Merthiolate, necessitate, negotiate, noncandidate, obliterate, officiate, Orange Free State, orientate, originate, oxygenate, participate, particulate, patriarchate, patriciate, perambulate, peregrinate, perpetuate, pontificate, precipitate, predestinate, predominate, prefabricate, premeditate, preponderate, prevaricate, procrastinate, prognosticate, proliferate, propitiate, proportionate, quadruplicate, quintuplicate, reciprocate, recriminate, recuperate, redecorate, reduplicate, reeducate, refrigerate, regenerate, regurgitate, reincarnate, reintegrate, reiterate, rejuvenate, remunerate, repatriate, repudiate, resuscitate, retaliate, reticulate, revaluate, reverberate, scholasticate, second estate, self-flagellate, self-immolate, self-pollinate, seventy-eight, sextuplicate, Singapore Strait, sophisticate, subordinate, substantiate, syllabicate, tergiversate, transliterate, triangulate, vanity plate, variegate, vaticinate, vituperate, vociferate