All 5 Uses of
inarticulate
in
Jane Eyre
- I listened long: suddenly I discovered that my ear was wholly intent on analysing the mingled sounds, and trying to discriminate amidst the confusion of accents those of Mr. Rochester; and when it caught them, which it soon did, it found a further task in framing the tones, rendered by distance inarticulate, into words.†
Chpt 17
- The west wind whispered in the ivy round me; but no gentle Ariel borrowed its breath as a medium of speech: the birds sang in the tree-tops; but their song, however sweet, was inarticulate.†
Chpt 20
- I thought, sir, that you were on the road a long way before me; and I strained every nerve to overtake you, and made effort on effort to utter your name and entreat you to stop — but my movements were fettered, and my voice still died away inarticulate; while you, I felt, withdrew farther and farther every moment.†
Chpt 25
- THOSE words did not die inarticulate on your lips.†
Chpt 25 *
- Suddenly he turned away, with an inarticulate exclamation, full of passionate emotion of some kind; he walked fast through the room and came back; he stooped towards me as if to kiss me; but I remembered caresses were now forbidden.†
Chpt 27
Definition:
-
(inarticulate) unable to communicate clearly (or to use words)
or (more rarely): a feeling or idea that is not expressedThe exact meaning of inarticulate depends upon its context. For example:- unable to find good words to express oneself -- as in "She gets inarticulate when she's nervous."
- verbally expressing a feeling without words -- as in "She uttered an inarticulate cry of despair."
- unable to make oneself heard and understood -- as in "She mumbled inarticulately."
- unable to speak -- as in "She was inarticulate with rage."
- a feeling or idea that is not expressed -- as in "We shared an inarticulate fear."
- inability to express or understand feelings or ideas -- as in "She is emotionally inarticulate, " or "Her symphony is inarticulate."