Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Endowed with the power of speech.
- adj. Composed of distinct, meaningful syllables or words, as human speech.
- adj. Expressing oneself easily in clear and effective language: an articulate speaker.
- adj. Characterized by the use of clear, expressive language: an articulate essay.
- adj. Anatomy Consisting of sections united by joints; jointed.
- v. To pronounce distinctly and carefully; enunciate.
- v. To utter (a speech sound) by making the necessary movements of the speech organs.
- v. To express in coherent verbal form; give words to: couldn't articulate my fears.
- v. To fit together into a coherent whole; unify: a plan to articulate nursing programs throughout the state.
- v. Anatomy To unite by forming a joint or joints.
- v. Architecture To give visible or concrete expression to (the composition of structural elements): a spare design in which windows and doors are barely articulated.
- v. To speak clearly and distinctly.
- v. To utter a speech sound.
- v. Anatomy To form a joint; be jointed: The thighbone articulates with the bones of the hip.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To joint; unite by means of a joint: as, two pieces loosely articulated together. See articulation, 2.
- To utter articulately; produce after the manner of human speech.
- To utter in distinct syllables or words.
- To formulate or set forth in articles; draw up or state under separate heads.
- Synonyms and Pronounce, Enunciate, etc. (see utter); speak.
- To form an articulation (with); connect (with): as, the ulna articulates with the humerus.
- To utter articulate sounds; utter distinct syllables or words: as, to articulate distinctly.
- To enter into negotiations; treat; come to or make terms.
- Jointed; segmented; articulated: as, an articulate limb; an articulate animal.
- Specifically, having the character of the Articulata.
- Jointed by syllabic division; divided into distinct successive parts, like joints, by the alternation of opener and closer sounds, or the intervention of consonantal utterances (sometimes also of pause or hiatus) between vowel sounds: said of human speech-utterance, as distinguished from other sounds made by human organs, and from the sounds made by the lower animals. The terms articulate, articulation, etc., as applied to human utterance, are not seldom misunderstood and wrongly used as if the “jointing” intended were that of the physical organs of utterance, a narrowing or closing of the organs at some point or points. Such action, however, belongs to all utterance, articulate or inarticulate, whether of man or of the other animals. See consonant, syllable, vowel.
- Hence Clear; distinct.
- Formulated or expressed in articles, or in separate particulars.
- Consisting of tens: as, articulate numbers.
- n. One of the Articulata.
Wiktionary
- adj. clear, effective
- adj. especially, speaking in a clear or effective manner
- adj. able to bend or hinge at certain points or intervals
- v. To make clear or effective.
- v. To speak clearly; to enunciate.
- v. To explain; to put into words; to make something specific.
- v. To bend or hinge something at intervals, or to allow or build something so that it can bend.
- v. to attack a note, as by tonguing, slurring, bowing, etc.
- v. to form a joint or connect by joints
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Expressed in articles or in separate items or particulars.
- adj. Jointed; formed with joints; consisting of segments united by joints.
- adj. Distinctly uttered; spoken so as to be intelligible; characterized by division into words and syllables.
- n. An animal of the subkingdom Articulata.
- v. To utter articulate sounds; to utter the elementary sounds of a language; to enunciate; to speak distinctly.
- v. To treat or make terms.
- v. To join or be connected by articulation.
- v. To joint; to unite by means of a joint; to put together with joints or at the joints.
- v. To draw up or write in separate articles; to particularize; to specify.
- v. To form, as the elementary sounds; to utter in distinct syllables or words; to enunciate.
- v. To express distinctly; to give utterance to.
WordNet 3.0
- v. speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way
- adj. consisting of segments held together by joints
- adj. expressing yourself easily or characterized by clear expressive language
- v. unite by forming a joint or joints
- v. put into words or an expression
- v. express or state clearly
- v. provide with a joint
Etymologies
- Latin articulātus, past participle of articulāre, to divide into joints, utter distinctly, from articulus, small joint; see article.
Examples
“What we have been talking about is how the use of the word articulate is code for a black person who enunciates his words when he speaks.”
“What Epstein fails to articulate is that while Israeli troops have formally pulled out from the Gaza Strip, Israel still controls all supplies that enter and leave the territory.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Telling Interview with the Director of Amnesty Israel
“I think what the author was trying to articulate is that an encrypted file system would only prove effective if you were in an enterprise environment with mission critical data on the hook.”
Windows 7 Ultimate Edition Not Geared At Home Users | Lifehacker Australia
“Let's face it; the man, while personable and articulate is laboring under the arrogant and false assumption that because so many people like him personally, his inexperience and general clueless won't matter.”
“I, for one, can never make any sense out of what she says, and if articulate is telling outright lies, saying "you betcha", and running sentences together, you need to bone up on the English language.”
“It is racist, because no one uses the word articulate to describe white speakers with exceptional oratorical skills.”
“While there, I endeavored to engage in articulate speech.”
“For example, remember how much trouble Joe Biden got into for using the word articulate, clean and articulate, to describe Barack Obama?”
“Best I can articulate is I think the issue has started and stalled and we need to check the spark plugs, because we * need* it on the road.”
“Rule of thumb: never associate the word articulate with a black person.”
6 things I noticed when I rewatched the Saddleback Civil Forum.
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘articulate’.
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@vcb.etym.prjct - SAT Catchall
brainfood for my hungry, eager pupils
iconoclast, glacial, agnostic, histrionic, treacly, contemptuous, captious, bombastic, bombast, perfidy, quiescence, sordid and 148 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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Talk Talk
Words for Talking
squawk, gab, chatter, chitchat, blab, prattle, blather, discuss, hector, plead, cajole, harangue and 189 more...
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bad memory
copper, anvil, oblique, thrust, shrine, welfare, farewell, bitter, faction, sectarian, tangible, spectacle and 132 more...
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Joe the Plumber
Hilariously over-used political talking points, or slogans, labels, etc. Also humorous misspeak. Whatever you want to do with this please do, as long as your entry jogs a memory. Add away.
...team of maveriks, joe the plumber, pork barrel spending, that one, bridge to nowhere, lipstick, arab, nu-cu-lar, battleground states, i approved this m..., hockey mom, 3 am phone call and 165 more...
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On with their heads!
Words that make other words with the addition of one letter at the beginning. The resulting words are tagged "behead".
men, his, yes, any, iota, limb, aged, laid, land, lead, read, word and 315 more...
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see ulater, alligator
Discombobulate-enkindled 'ulate' words.
discombobulate, undulate, perambulate, ululate, tabulate, postulate, particulate, articulate, inarticulate, populate, manipulate, capitulate and 95 more...
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incandescent
these I like very much
effervescent, snuggly, wicked, betrothed, bounce, shameful, finicky, clandestine, pontificate, luscious, lascivious, loquacious and 25 more...
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popupstorybook's heteronym list
I like heteronyms--two words with identical spelling but different pronunciations. Here are a few off the top of my head. Feel free to add more. *Here's a challenge: use these words to create se...
entrance, resume, dove, construct, wind, produce, live, appropriate, slough, buffet, project, invalid and 7 more...
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favourites.
waltz, articulate, caterpillar, skeletal, zeitgeist, pensive, nymph, obscure, fluctuate, bellyache, martyr, premium and 2 more...
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I am : talking
"These are talking words," I announce. "You mean verbs that can be used for dialogue?" you ask. "That's right!" I agree.
say, speak, ask, declare, query, shout, yell, scream, shriek, squeal, squeak, screech and 81 more...
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mbmontague's list
This is a list of words I like or words that baffle me.
inchoate, praeternatural, articulate, ideation, pungent, polemic, cogent, aberrant, salient, wisp, withe, nexus and 24 more...
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communication words
concise, ethos, cohesive, redundant, circumlocution, logos, pathos, rhetoric, articulate, verbose, taciturn, translate and 4 more...
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On speaking terms
Verbs describing speech. We are all tired of He said, She said. Here are some alternative verbs.
stated, declare, state, assert, affirm, air, articulate, deliver, describe, clarify, elucidate, enunciate and 19 more...

EditorMark American Heritage and Oxford American seem to be out front with the verb use of "articulate" as fitting things together to make a whole (AH definition No. 9). The usage I've been coming across is higher-ed jargon for making sure community college programs jibe with four-year college programs for seamless transition, similar to the anatomical use, to form a joint (AH definition No. 14 and New Oxford American No.2). "Articulation agreement" gets 147,000 hits in a Google search. As defined by City College of Chicago: "An articulation agreement is a formal agreement between institutions that allows credits earned in specific programs at the City Colleges to be applied towards direct entry or advanced standing at another institution." http://www.ccc.edu/admissions/articulation.shtml. Also: "Utica College agrees to articulate with Herkimer County Community. College by providing ... ." www.herkimer.edu/pdfs/transferagreements/.../utica_liberal_arts.pdf. Jul 5, 2009