using language easily and fluently; having facility with words: an articulate speaker.
expressed, formulated, or presented with clarity and effectiveness: an articulate thought.
made clear, distinct, and precise in relation to other parts: an articulate form; an articulate shape; an articulate area.
(of ideas, form, etc.) having a meaningful relation to other parts: an articulate image.
having parts or distinct areas organized into a coherent or meaningful whole; unified: an articulate system of philosophy.
Zoology. having joints or articulations; composed of segments.
verb (used with object),ar·tic·u·lat·ed,ar·tic·u·lat·ing.
to utter clearly and distinctly; pronounce with clarity.
Phonetics. to make the movements and adjustments of the speech organs necessary to utter (a speech sound).
to give clarity or distinction to: to articulate a shape; to articulate an idea.
Dentistry. to position or reposition (teeth); subject to articulation.
to unite by a joint or joints.
to reveal or make distinct: an injection to articulate arteries so that obstructions can be observed by x-ray.
verb (used without object),ar·tic·u·lat·ed,ar·tic·u·lat·ing.
to pronounce clearly each of a succession of speech sounds, syllables, or words; enunciate: to articulate with excessive precision.
Phonetics. to articulate a speech sound.
Anatomy, Zoology. to form a joint.
Obsolete. to make terms of agreement.
noun
a segmented invertebrate.
Origin of articulate
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin articulātus, past participle of articulāre “to divide into distinct parts”; see origin at article, -ate1
SYNONYMS FOR articulate
4 expressive.
9 enunciate.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR articulate ON THESAURUS.COM
ANTONYMS FOR articulate
4 inarticulate, unintelligible.
9 mumble.
SEE ANTONYMS FOR articulate ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for articulate
4. See eloquent.
historical usage of articulate
The English adjective articulate first appears in print in 1531 in the meaning “uttered clearly and distinctly.” The verb articulate first appears about 20 years later, in the sense “to formulate in articles, set out, specify.” Articulate comes from Latin articulātus, the past participle of articulāre “to divide into separate, distinct parts,” a derivative of the noun articulus “joint (of a body), point (of time), clause or section (of a contract or law), a single word in a phrase, clause, or sentence pronounced by itself, a pronoun or pronominal adjective, an article (definite or indefinite).” As for the last definition, “an article (definite or indefinite, such as the or a in English),” the great, usually levelheaded Roman rhetorician Quintilian wrote Noster sermō articulōs nōn dēsīderat (“Our language does not desire articles”). Quintilian was contrasting Latin, which indeed had no articles, with Greek, which had a fully inflected definite article for all genders, numbers, and cases. Quintilian is proven wrong by the definite and indefinite articles in all the Romance languages.
These values require constant maintenance and must be articulated over and over again in new contexts.
Participation-washing could be the next dangerous fad in machine learning|Amy Nordrum|August 25, 2020|MIT Technology Review
One response was through petition writing as women took to the pen to articulate their concerns.
How Igbo women activists influenced British authorities during the colonial rule of Nigeria|Bright Alozie|August 7, 2020|Quartz
It’s not just that the weighted vote is bad – which many smaller cities have articulated loudly and clearly for a few years now – but that the weighted vote is inappropriate for quasi-judicial decisions.
Politics Report: Mara Elliott, Plumber|Scott Lewis and Andrew Keatts|August 1, 2020|Voice of San Diego
Scroll’s reason for existing has always been fairly easy to articulate.
Inside Tony Haile’s expedition to (help) save the news business |Steven Perlberg|July 27, 2020|Digiday
He has articulated some very clear themes and tried to approach them.
Does the President Matter as Much as You Think? (Ep. 404)|Stephen J. Dubner|February 6, 2020|Freakonomics
I am not the most financially literate person (I would be hard-pressed to articulate the term “junk bond”).
Can Self-Help Books Really Make a New You?|Lizzie Crocker|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His correspondence, much of which survives, is that of an incisive and articulate observer.
Stonewall Jackson, VMI’s Most Embattled Professor|S. C. Gwynne|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I was looking for characters, originals, people who could articulate what they were doing in colorful ways.
The Real-Life Raiders of the Lost Ark|Alex Belth|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
My debate partner in Virginia was articulate, educated, likable, and familiar with a vast range of relevant scientific research.
My Debate With an ‘Intelligent Design’ Theorist|Karl W. Giberson|April 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Flooded by questions without words to articulate them, I connected images with explanations.
‘Tracing the Blue Light’: Read Chapter 1 of Eileen Cronin’s ‘Mermaid’|Eileen Cronin|April 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was as the utterance of a baby child but just learning to articulate.
The Gateless Barrier|Lucas Malet
Such testimony is irrefutable, and is to groups of peoples what articulate speech is to the individual in the zoological scale.
Russia: Its People and Its Literature|Emilia Pardo Bazán
His anxiety had forced into speech thoughts that had never before been articulate.
Dangerous Days|Mary Roberts Rinehart
We have articulate evidence of the denial of the two sacraments by the Docetic idealists of Asia Minor.
Expositor's Bible: The Epistles of St. John|William Alexander
She made a little gasp and murmur, but no articulate words came.
The Seaboard Parish Vol. 2|George MacDonald
British Dictionary definitions for articulate
articulate
adjective (ɑːˈtɪkjʊlɪt)
able to express oneself fluently and coherentlyan articulate lecturer
having the power of speech
distinct, clear, or definite; well-constructedan articulate voice; an articulate document
zoology(of arthropods and higher vertebrates) possessing joints or jointed segments
verb (ɑːˈtɪkjʊˌleɪt)
to speak or enunciate (words, syllables, etc) clearly and distinctly