Meaning & use

articulate

adjective·Academic

Able to express thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively in speech or writing.

See it in a sentence

The young lawyer was remarkably articulate when presenting her closing argument to the jury.

He felt too nervous to be articulate during the stressful job interview.

A note on using this word

As a verb, articulate (stressed on the last syllable) means to pronounce clearly or to put an idea into words.

Words with a similar meaning

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

inarticulatetongue-tied

Another way to use it

2. verb

To express an idea clearly and effectively, or to pronounce a sound distinctly.

It took her a while to articulate exactly why the proposal troubled her.

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