Articulate Meaning
/ɑː(ɹ)ˈtɪk.jʊ.leɪt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo make clear or effective.
verbTo speak clearly; to enunciate.
Sentence Examples
Sometimes he has difficulty being articulate about his views.
Only a handful of activists in our union are articulate.
She struggled to articulate her thoughts.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The lawyer was able to ____ her arguments clearly during the trial.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She is very ____ and can express her complex ideas very clearly.
Word Origin & History
The adjective is first attested in 1531, the verb in 1551; borrowed from Latin articulātus (“distinct, articulated, jointed”), perfect passive participle of articulō, see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3). Regular participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It’s not just that Trump’s voters are articulating the same ideas. They’re framing issues in the same way, pointing to the same boogeymen and even using the same words."
— 2018 October 24, Jeremy Diamond, “Trump’s secret weapon: Legions of supporters spreading his message”, in CNN, archived from the original on 12 May 2019:
"Send us to Rome / The best, with whom we may articulate / For their own good and ours."
— c. 1605–1608, William Shakespeare, Coriolanus, act 1, scene 9, lines 75–77:
"articulate sounds"
— 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “II. Century.”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
"Brutes cannot form articulate Sounds, cannot articulate the Sounds of the Voice, excepting some few Birds, as the Parrot, Pye, &c."
— 1728, James Knapton, John Knapton, Cyclopaedia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, page 146:
"Theſe things indeede you haue articulate(d),
Proclaim'd at Market Croſſes, read in Churches,
To face the Garment of Rebellion
VVith ſome fine colour, that may pleaſe the eye
Of fickle Changelings, and poore Diſcontents,
Which gape, and rub the Elbovv at the nevves
Of hurly burly Innouation :
And neuer yet did Inſurrection vvant
Such vvater-colours, to impaint his cauſe :
Nor moody Beggars, ſtaruing for a time
Of pell-mell hauocke, and confuſion,"
— c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], page 69, column 2:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The lawyer was able to ____ her arguments clearly during the trial.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She is very ____ and can express her complex ideas very clearly.