inarticulate

From Latin inarticulatus and from in- +‎ articulate. See -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪn.ɑɹˈtɪk.jə.lət/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪn.ɑːˈtɪk.jʊ.lət/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: in‧ar‧tic‧u‧late

inarticulate (comparative more inarticulate, superlative most inarticulate)

1. (of speech) Not articulated in normal words.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXXIII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 274:

     Major Johnstone strove to speak, but the words died in an inarticulate gurgle low in his throat; and Evelyn had only time to start from his knee, and save the dying man from falling to the earth.

   • 2024 September 8, HarryBlank, “Next to Nothing”, in SCP Foundation‎^[1], archived from the original on 5 October 2024:

     Pensak made an inarticulate shout of surprise, and O stepped away from the sudden precipice so hard that she collided with the back of the elevator, and yelped.

2. Speechless.
3. Unable to speak with any clarity.
4. (biology) Not having joints or other articulations.

From the substantivation of the above adjective through the associated taxon's name (Inarticulata). Used by contrast with Articulata.

inarticulate (plural inarticulates)

1. (zoology, obsolete) An animal belonging to the subphylum Inarticulata.