Inarticulate

//ɪn.ɑɹˈtɪk.jə.lət// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An animal belonging to the subphylum Inarticulata. obsolete
Adjective
  1. 1
    Not articulated in normal words.

    "Major Johnstone strove to speak, but the words died in an inarticulate gurgle low in his throat; and Evelyn had only time to start from his knee, and save the dying man from falling to the earth."

  2. 2
    Speechless.
  3. 3
    Unable to speak with any clarity.
  4. 4
    Not having joints or other articulations.
Adjective
  1. 1
    without or deprived of the use of speech or words wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
aphasicdumbsilentspeechlessunspokenvoiceless

Example

More examples

"She was in a panic and yelled something inarticulate."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Latin inarticulatus and from in- + articulate. See -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

Etymology 2

From the substantivation of the above adjective through the associated taxon's name (Inarticulata). Used by contrast with Articulata.

More for "inarticulate"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.