articulation

[ahr-tik-yuh-ley-shuhn]

noun

1. an act or the process of articulating.

   the articulation of a form;

   the articulation of a new thought.

2. Phonetics.

   1. the act or process of articulating speech.

   2. the adjustments and movements of speech organs involved in pronouncing a particular sound, taken as a whole.

   3. any one of these adjustments and movements.

   4. any speech sound, especially a consonant.

3. the act of jointing.

4. a jointed state or formation; a joint.

5. Botany.

   1. a joint or place between two parts where separation may take place spontaneously, as at the point of attachment of a leaf.

   2. a node in a stem, or the space between two nodes.

6. Anatomy, Zoology.,  a joint, as the joining or juncture of bones or of the movable segments of an arthropod.

7. Dentistry.

   1. the positioning of teeth in a denture, usually on an articulator, for correct occlusion.

   2. the bringing of opposing tooth surfaces into contact with each other.

   3. the relations of the upper and lower natural or artificial teeth in occlusion.

8. a measure of the effectiveness of a telephonic transmission system in reproducing speech comprehensibly, expressed as the percentage of speech units uttered that is correctly understood.

articulation

/ ɑːˌtɪkjʊˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of speaking or expressing in words

2. 1. the process of articulating a speech sound

   2. the sound so produced, esp a consonant

3. the act or the state of being jointed together

4. the form or manner in which something is jointed

5. zoology

   1. a joint such as that between bones or arthropod segments

   2. the way in which jointed parts are connected

6. botany the part of a plant at which natural separation occurs, such as the joint between leaf and stem

7. a joint or jointing

articulation

1. The arrangement of parts connected by joints.

2. A fixed or movable joint between bones.

3. A movable joint between inflexible parts of the body of an animal, as the divisions of an appendage in arthropods.

4. A joint between two separable parts, as a leaf and a stem.

Other Word Forms

• articulatory adjective
• articulatorily adverb
• misarticulation noun
• rearticulation noun
• subarticulation noun
• unarticulatory adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of articulation¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English articulacio(u)n, from Middle French, from Latin articulātiōn-, stem of articulātiō “division into distinct parts,” from articulāt(us) “divided into distinct parts” + -iō noun suffix; articulate -ion

Example Sentences

It’s a natural articulation of the depth that your soul chose to crave.

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That's closely akin relates to my own 2021 proposal that public health — framed as a collective articulation of caring — could play a similar role:

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“The policy initiatives that we see a lot of that was in Project 2025 go in face of the articulation of Mr. Kennedy and the things he wants to do,” Benjamin said.

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“The farther you get into language and articulation, the father you get from emotion. You have to get back into song and poetry,” he told The Times in 2002.

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But the history of those cases is not just the articulation of a more inclusive vision regarding whose rights should be protected.

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Related Words

• diction