communicate
Americanverb (used with object)
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communicates,
present (3rd person singular)
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communicated,
past participle, past
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communicating
present participle
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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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communicates,
present (3rd person singular)
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communicated,
past participle, past
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communicating
present participle
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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.
See Examples For:
As Friedrich Hayek emphasized, prices communicate information and make trade-offs visible.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
"We failed to communicate what we were doing, why we were doing it and how we were doing it," said Borland.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
When Frankie and Molly begin to communicate with their cats, the felines are voiced by Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Myokines also allow muscle to communicate with the liver, fat tissue, blood vessels, bone and even the brain.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
He just didn’t have the right tools to communicate with us.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Wallace communicates with sign language or through his interpreter, Jo Beth Prince.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
Serotonin communicates by attaching to receptors on a cell's surface.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
Ana Carolina Evangelista, director of the Institute for the Study of Religion, told AFP that Michelle Bolsonaro was also "the person who connects and communicates organically with Brazil's evangelical community."
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
The imagery doesn’t always translate line-by-line but reliably communicates a broader emotional state.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
And if Mom communicates with us, tell him immediately.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
News website Politico first reported, external that Burnham communicated with a person claiming to be Susie Wiles.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Ruemmler said the last time she communicated with Epstein was when he called her after he was arrested in July 2019.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
A century ago, for example, going to cash would have required hundreds of individual sell orders communicated separately to your broker, each one of which would have incurred sizable brokerage commissions.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
The order sending the case to trial was signed on Friday and the decision communicated to the parties on Monday.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
A touch so small that communicated so much.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
Today, according to career experts, being an active listener or agreeable conversationalist might hold more weight, particularly in communicating ideas.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
My own lab has shown this year that GLP-1 drugs reduce a type of activity in the lateral septum that may prevent it communicating so effectively with other brain regions.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
Arnault’s arrival on X was amplified by Elon Musk, who reposted the luxury tycoon’s inaugural post and endorsed the idea of communicating directly with the public rather than via the media.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Now, which has been communicating with neighborhood residents about conditions around the warehouse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Father and the gunman glance at each other, communicating some meaning I don’t catch.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
