inarticulacy

/ˌɪn.ɑːˈtɪk.jə.lə.si/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌɪn.ɑːrˈtɪk.jə.lə.si/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌi-(ˌ)när-ˈti-kyə-lə-sē/ (ame, mw)

inarticulacy — noun

1. the condition of struggling to put thoughts or emotions into clear words, or of

1.名詞C2
釋義

the condition of struggling to put thoughts or emotions into clear words, or of speech and writing that comes out muddled and hard for others to follow.

例句

Rohan's inarticulacy at the funeral surprised friends who knew him as a bold public speaker.

[NAME]'s inarticulacy at [event] — emotion-driven loss of fluency

Grief reduced Dahlia to a kind of inarticulacy she had never felt before that week.

reduced [NAME] to inarticulacy — pattern for sudden onset

同義詞
  • incoherence

    stronger; suggests speech that makes no logical sense, not just unclear

  • tongue-tiedness

    informal; describes a temporary social-anxiety version of the same state

  • speechlessness

    implies total silence rather than muddled words

反義詞
  • eloquence

    the polished, persuasive opposite — fluent and well-chosen words

  • fluency

    smooth, easy delivery; broader than 'eloquence', which adds style

用法筆記

Almost always uncountable and used with a possessive (his, her, the witness's) or 'of'. Subject of strong onset verbs like 'reduce', 'strike', 'overcome'.

常見錯誤

❌She had many inarticulacies during the speech.
✅She had moments of inarticulacy during the speech.
💡'inarticulacy' is uncountable; use 'moments of' to count instances.
❌His inarticulate was obvious to everyone.
✅His inarticulacy was obvious to everyone.
💡'inarticulate' is the adjective; 'inarticulacy' is the noun form.