as in mute
unable to speak
the sudden rumblings of an earthquake rendered people inarticulate with fear
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Recent Examples of inarticulate
Hank’s friends – conspiracy theorist Dale, military barber Bill, and cool but inarticulate Boomhauer, along with Peggy’s friends Minh and meteorologist Nancy, and Bobby’s friend Connie helped the Hills navigate a changing world.
—
Katie Campione, Deadline, 12 Aug. 2025
The root conveys a sense of emitting a deep, inarticulate sound of distress.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
As pompous actor Garry, Nehal Joshi aces the tough task of making his character’s halting, inarticulate speech sound authentic.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 July 2025
But the movie also becomes draggy and repetitive, unformed in its intentions and as inarticulate as Zi about her untethered feelings.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for inarticulate
Katie Campione, Deadline, 12 Aug. 2025
The root conveys a sense of emitting a deep, inarticulate sound of distress.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
As pompous actor Garry, Nehal Joshi aces the tough task of making his character’s halting, inarticulate speech sound authentic.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 July 2025
But the movie also becomes draggy and repetitive, unformed in its intentions and as inarticulate as Zi about her untethered feelings.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for inarticulate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inarticulate
Adjective
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That strong start ended against the Rangers, as Cabrera (3-1) allowed five runs on seven hits over five innings in his worst outing of the season, and the Cubs offense was on mute.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
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Three recent preprint papers that arrived within weeks of one another probe the possibility that dark matter is not a mute backdrop but an active participant in cosmic physics.—
Paul M. Sutter,
Scientific American,
6 May 2026
Adjective
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His friends, from brother Luigi (Charlie Day) to Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) veer in a similar direction, somehow coming across less fully formed and three-dimensional than their nearly speechless inspirations from Nintendo‘s flagship franchise.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
31 Mar. 2026
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In helicopter video taken by Air Maui Helicopter Tours in Lahaina and posted online the people aboard are largely speechless.—
Phil Helsel,
NBC News,
10 Aug. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Inarticulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inarticulate. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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