inarticulate

/ˌɪnɑːˈtɪkjələt/ (bre, ipa) · [ˌɪnɑrtˈɪkjələt] /ˌɪnɑːrˈtɪkjələt/ (ame, ipa) · [ˌɪnɑrtˈɪkjələt] /ˌi-(ˌ)när-ˈti-kyə-lət/ (ame, mw)

inarticulate — 形容詞

  • inarticulatepositive
  • more inarticulatecomparative
  • most inarticulatesuperlative

1. If you describe a person as inarticulate, they find it hard to put their thought

1.形容詞B2
釋義

表達不清

難以清楚表達所思所想，或含糊難懂

If you describe a person as inarticulate, they find it hard to put their thoughts or feelings into clear words, especially when they feel nervous, shy, or emotional. If language, speech, or writing is inarticulate, the words are not formed clearly and the meaning is difficult to follow.

例句

Théo felt so nervous during the job interview that he became completely inarticulate.

Théo 在求職面試時太過緊張，變得完全無法清楚表達。

be + inarticulate describing a temporary state under pressure

Daniel's inarticulate essay confused the teacher, who could not understand his main point.

Daniel 那篇表達不清的作文讓老師很困惑，完全抓不到重點。

inarticulate + noun describing unclear writing

同義詞
  • tongue-tied

    more informal; specifically implies being temporarily unable to speak from shyness or surprise

  • incoherent

    focuses on the speech being disordered or jumping between ideas, often from shock or confusion

  • unclear

    broader term that can describe any kind of communication that is hard to understand

反義詞
  • articulate

    direct opposite — able to express ideas clearly and fluently

  • eloquent

    describes someone who speaks with fluency, force, and persuasiveness

文法句型

be + inarticulate

remain + inarticulate

inarticulate + noun

用法筆記

This word can describe either the person who struggles to speak clearly or the unclear speech or writing itself. When used of a person, it almost always implies nervousness, shyness, or strong emotion — not a permanent inability to speak. For the opposite meaning, use 'articulate'.

常見錯誤

❌My grandfather is very old and now he is inarticulate' (meaning he has lost the physical ability to speak).
✅My grandfather is very old and now he has difficulty speaking clearly.
💡'Inarticulate' describes trouble forming thoughts into words, not a physical loss of speech.
❌The foreign student was inarticulate in Chinese' (meaning his Chinese was not fluent).
✅The foreign student was not yet fluent in Chinese.
💡'Inarticulate' refers to unclear expression in any language, not to limited foreign-language ability.