articulate

Everyday

1. (adjective) An articulate person can express ideas clearly and well in words. tree →
2. (verb) To articulate ideas or feelings is to express them clearly in words. tree →
3. (verb) To articulate sounds is to say them clearly. tree →
4. (verb, science) To articulate is to join with a joint so parts can move, like bones. tree →

In the lessons

Used in English and speaking lessons («articulate your ideas»), school reports, science (joints, articulated skeletons), and transport (an articulated lorry, a long lorry that bends in the middle).

Examples

• She is a very articulate speaker. tree →
• Try to articulate your feelings instead of shouting. tree →
• Articulate each word so the audience can hear you. tree →
• The museum has an articulated dinosaur skeleton. tree →
• An articulated lorry bends in the middle when it turns. tree →
• The upper arm bone articulates with the shoulder. tree →
• He was too upset to articulate what had happened. tree →
• By and by, the rushing noise began to sound like articulate language. tree →

Note

Two pronunciations: adjective ar-TIK-yoo-lut; verb ar-TIK-yoo-late. Noun: «articulation». In the UK «articulated lorry» is often shortened to «artic»; in the US people say «semi» or «tractor-trailer».

In Jewish tradition

In Sefer Yetzirah it means to shape sound into clear speech and letters, as God shaped breath into letters.

Interpretation. The tradition teaches that God made the world by speech, and the letters are the shaped breath through which that happened.

Examples

• The articulate word of creative power, the spirit and the word are what we call the holy spirit is (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
• The articulate word of creative power, the spirit and the word are what we call the holy spirit. [1:10] 2) Air emanated from the spirit by which He formed and established twenty-two consonants, stamina. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →

Note

Two pronunciations: adjective ar-TIK-yoo-lut; verb ar-TIK-yoo-late. Noun: «articulation». In the UK «articulated lorry» is often shortened to «artic»; in the US people say «semi» or «tractor-trailer».