Meaning & use
communicate
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To share information, ideas or feelings with someone by speaking, writing or other signals.
Grammar: Intransitive with with: communicate with a colleague; transitive for the message: communicate a plan.
Patterns
- communicate with someone
- communicate something to someone
They communicate by email every day.
She communicated her concerns to the manager.
Dolphins communicate with each other using clicks.
verbintransitive
To make yourself understood, especially clearly.
Grammar: No object; often used without with: she communicates well.
Patterns
- communicate well
He communicates very clearly in meetings.
Good teachers know how to communicate.
verbtransitiveformal
To pass a disease or feeling from one person or thing to another.
Grammar: Takes an object: communicate a disease.
Patterns
- communicate something to someone
Her calm voice communicated confidence to the nervous passengers.
Word forms
| third person singular | communicates |
|---|---|
| past tense | communicated |
| past participle | communicated |
| -ing form | communicating |
Common combinations
- communicate effectively
- Managers must communicate effectively.
- communicate with
- I communicate with my sister by video call.
- communicate clearly
- Please communicate clearly in your reports.
- communicate a message
- The poster communicates a clear message.
- fail to communicate
- The two teams failed to communicate.
Synonyms and how they differ
- convey
- Focuses on getting an idea or feeling across, and takes an object.
- correspond
- Means to exchange letters or messages over time.
- talk
- Is informal and limited to speech.
- express
- Means to put a thought or feeling into words or actions, without needing a listener.
Opposites
Word family
- communication noun
- the sharing of information
- communicator noun
- a person skilled in sharing ideas
- communicative adjective
- willing to talk and share
- communicable adjective
- able to be passed on, as a disease
Commonly confused: communicate or commune?
communicate vs commune
To commune is to feel close to nature or someone spiritually; it is not the ordinary word for exchanging information.
Practice
Choose the correct preposition: She finds it hard to communicate ___ her teenage son.
Choose one answer.
Communicate with a person is the standard pattern. Communicate to is used with a message as the object: communicate the plan to the staff.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “communicate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.