communicate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to impart knowledge of; make known.
to communicate information;
to communicate one's happiness.
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to give to another; impart; transmit.
to communicate a disease.
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to administer the Eucharist to.
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Archaic. to share in or partake of.
verb (used without object)
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to give or interchange thoughts, feelings, information, or the like, by writing, speaking, etc..
They communicate with each other every day.
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to express thoughts, feelings, or information easily or effectively.
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to be joined or connected.
The rooms communicated by means of a hallway.
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to partake of the Eucharist.
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Obsolete. to take part or participate.
verb
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to impart (knowledge) or exchange (thoughts, feelings, or ideas) by speech, writing, gestures, etc
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to allow (a feeling, emotion, etc) to be sensed (by), willingly or unwillingly; transmit (to)
the dog communicated his fear to the other animals
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(intr) to have a sympathetic mutual understanding
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to make or have a connecting passage or route; connect
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(tr) to transmit (a disease); infect
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(intr) Christianity to receive or administer Communion
Synonym Usage
Communicate, impart denote giving to a person or thing a part or share of something, now usually something immaterial, as knowledge, thoughts, hopes, qualities, or properties. Communicate, the more common word, implies often an indirect or gradual transmission: to communicate information by means of letters, telegrams, etc.; to communicate one's wishes to someone else. Impart usually implies directness of action: to impart information.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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communicatornoun
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overcommunicateverb
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precommunicateverb
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communicatoryadjective
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noncommunicatingadjective
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uncommunicatingadjective
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well-communicatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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communicatesimple
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communicatessimple
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have communicatedperfect
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has communicatedperfect
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am communicatingprogressive
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are communicatingprogressive
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is communicatingprogressive
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have been communicatingperfect progressive
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has been communicatingperfect progressive
Past
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communicatedsimple
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had communicatedperfect
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was communicatingprogressive
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were communicatingprogressive
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had been communicatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of communicate
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin commūnicātus “imparted,” past participle of commūnicāre “to impart, make common,” equivalent to commūn(is) common + -icāre, verb suffix
Explanation
To communicate is to exchange words, feelings, or information with others. They did communicate through texting and picture sharing, but the hug he gave his mom when he came home from college communicated more love than any instant message. There are countless ways to communicate! Using an exclamation point in the first sentence is a way to communicate excitement at the many ways to use communicate. A facial expression can communicate joy or anger, and something written can communicate ideas and instructions. Cave men learned to communicate by drawing on cave walls, and people in modern times communicate electronically. Up close or far away, humans and animals — and some would say extraterrestrials, too — are born to communicate.
Vocabulary lists containing communicate
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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STAAR Grade 7 Reading: The Language of the Test, List 1
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UCPS 6th Grade Roots List #1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Defence counsel Patrick Gibb KC told the court that the defendant was suffering from the advanced effects of MND, was paralysed and cannot communicate.
From BBC • Jul. 3, 2026
Because magnons naturally interact with many different quantum systems, they could also act as universal translators, allowing technologies that normally cannot communicate with one another to work together.
From Science Daily • Jul. 2, 2026
Citizens can communicate instantly with thousands of like-minded people anywhere in the world.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026
Even if companies didn’t communicate their pricing strategies to one another directly, the argument goes, the software is allowing them to share data and keep prices above a certain threshold.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2026
Even insects, such as bees and ants, know how to communicate in sophisticated ways, informing one another of the whereabouts of food.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
