Synonyms

communicate

American

[kuh-myoo-ni-kayt] / kəˈmju nɪˌkeɪt /

verb (used with object)

to impart knowledge of; make known.

to communicate information;
to communicate one's happiness.

Synonyms:

reveal, disclose, announce, divulge

Antonyms:

conceal, withhold
to give to another; impart; transmit.

to communicate a disease.
to administer the Eucharist to.
Archaic. to share in or partake of.

verb (used without object)

to give or interchange thoughts, feelings, information, or the like, by writing, speaking, etc..

They communicate with each other every day.
to express thoughts, feelings, or information easily or effectively.
to be joined or connected.

The rooms communicated by means of a hallway.
to partake of the Eucharist.
Obsolete. to take part or participate.

communicate British

/ kəˈmjuːnɪˌkeɪt /

verb

to impart (knowledge) or exchange (thoughts, feelings, or ideas) by speech, writing, gestures, etc
to allow (a feeling, emotion, etc) to be sensed (by), willingly or unwillingly; transmit (to)

the dog communicated his fear to the other animals
(intr) to have a sympathetic mutual understanding
to make or have a connecting passage or route; connect
(tr) to transmit (a disease); infect
(intr) Christianity to receive or administer Communion

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

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.

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Vocabulary lists containing communicate

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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:

communicate communicates communicated communicating

Twilio, with a market cap of $46 billion, makes various technologies that allow companies to communicate with their customers.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

We need to make sure that we’re communicating in terms that the American people communicate in.

From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2026

For decades, therapists urged families to communicate better and work out differences.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

Sidi Wang, another parent, said it’s helpful to communicate with office staff and teachers in Mandarin, even though she speaks English.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

Jeremy felt his mouth begin to water as he sat in his room, trying to communicate with Tiamat.

From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville

The latest model fell short in terms of "staying within scope and authorisation, and how it communicates back to the user about the type of work it's done," Jain said.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

What the BOJ communicates will likely have a big impact on the yen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

It considers a woman’s own health, not just the baby’s, and communicates risk without shame or a heavy hand.

From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026

She occasionally communicates through Facebook with my previous spouse, with whom I’m still close.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

And if Mom communicates with us, tell him immediately.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

She said employees at Booking.com had not communicated with each other, describing the situation as "carnage".

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

“We requested field use, received permits, paid the associated fees, communicated with city staff, and responded to concerns when they were brought to our attention,” he wrote in an email to The Times.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

U.S. and Iranian officials also communicated through Qatari and Pakistani mediators during the gathering, contacts Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as significant despite the limited progress.

From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026

I Am Not A Villain has also posted screenshots of emails that suggest the scammer hijacked an Italian government email account, which communicated with an email address used by Revolut’s Italian arm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

The front porch, where raccoons used to shit on the doormat because Charlie said it had some weird chemical that communicated “Shit here” in Raccoon?

From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King

We need to make sure that we’re communicating in terms that the American people communicate in.

From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2026

If you aren’t communicating your preferences early and often, they might not know that this is a financial stress for you.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

"I think we should be moving away from these traditional corporate stigmas. What matters is what the person is actually communicating during the interview."

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Dance movies marvelously translate primal emotions into motion, the human body becoming a supple instrument deftly communicating the pain, ecstasy and confusion of being alive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

The capsule’s signal bounced from one tracking station to the next as the orbit proceeded, like a very fast and expensive game of telephone, constantly communicating its position and status.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023