articulate

verb

ar·​tic·​u·​late är-ˈti-kyə-ˌlāt 

articulated; articulating

transitive verb

1

a

: to give clear and effective utterance to : to put into words

articulate one's thoughts/feelings

a leader who can articulate a vision

the views articulated in the book

b

: to utter distinctly

… Mr. [Mel] Torme's singing, no matter how speedy, takes care to articulate each syllable.

—Stephen Holden

c

: to give definition to (something, such as a shape or object)

Eight shades of gray were chosen to articulate different spaces.

—Carol Vogel

d

: to give shape or expression to (something, such 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

articulated the mammoth bones/skeleton

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

too frightened to articulate

2

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

Most bones articulate with other bones in one or more places.

articulative

är-ˈti-kyə-lə-tiv 

-ˌlā-

adjective

articulator

är-ˈti-kyə-ˌlā-tər 

noun

Synonyms of articulate

• speak
• say
• express

Examples of articulate in a Sentence

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

"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

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

He had some trouble articulating his thoughts.

We disagree with the views articulated by the administration.

a theory first articulated by ancient philosophers

the bones that articulate with the clavicle

Recent Examples on the Web

Kim has also articulated his broader ambitions for North Korea's role in the new geopolitical environment. —Jennifer Pak, NPR, 10 June 2026

Speaking with with Cosmopolitan a few months later, Hyland articulated her disappointment with her character's ending. —Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 9 June 2026

Leaders need to articulate a direction that employees, investors, and customers believe in, for this new future. —Carolyn Dewar, Fortune, 9 June 2026

The director of national intelligence sets the tone for that resolutely nonpolitical stance and polices it through principles articulated in the agency’s analytic integrity and standards. —Gregory F. Treverton, The Conversation, 8 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin articulātus, past participle of articulāre "to make distinct sounds," going back to Latin, "to divide into distinct parts" — more at articulate entry 1

First Known Use

1561, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1b

Rhymes for articulate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

articulate

1 of 2 adjective

ar·​tic·​u·​late är-ˈtik-yə-lət 

1

a

: clearly understandable

an articulate argument

b

: able to express oneself clearly and well

an articulate speaker

2

: consisting of segments united by joints : jointed

articulate animals

articulately adverb

articulateness noun

articulate

2 of 2 verb

ar·​tic·​u·​late är-ˈtik-yə-ˌlāt 

articulated; articulating

1

a

: to speak in clear syllables or words

b

: to express clearly

2

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

articulator

-ˌlāt-ər 

noun

Medical Definition

articulate

1 of 2 adjective

ar·​tic·​u·​late är-ˈtik-yə-lət 

: consisting of segments united by joints : jointed

articulate animals

articulate

2 of 2 verb

ar·​tic·​u·​late -ˌlāt 

articulated; articulating

transitive verb

1

: to utter distinctly

2

: to unite by means of a joint

3

: to arrange (artificial teeth) on an articulator

intransitive verb

1

: to utter articulate sounds

2

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

bones that articulate with each other