from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Communicate \Com*mu"ni*cate\ (k[o^]m*m[=u]"n[i^]*k[=a]t ), v. t.
[imp. & p. p. {Communicated}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Communicating}.] [L. communicatus, p. p. of communicare to
communicate, fr. communis common. See {Commune}, v. i.]
1. To share in common; to participate in. [Obs.]
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To thousands that communicate our loss. --B. Jonson
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2. To impart; to bestow; to convey; as, to communicate a
disease or a sensation; to communicate motion by means of
a crank.
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Where God is worshiped, there he communicates his
blessings and holy influences. --Jer. Taylor.
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3. To make known; to recount; to give; to impart; as, to
communicate information to any one.
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4. To administer the communion to. [R.]
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She [the church] . . . may communicate him. --Jer.
Taylor.
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Note: This verb was formerly followed by with before the
person receiving, but now usually takes to after it.
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He communicated those thoughts only with the Lord
Digby. --Clarendon.
Syn: To impart; bestow; confer; reveal; disclose; tell;
announce; recount; make known.
Usage: To {Communicate}, {Impart}, {Reveal}. Communicate is
the more general term, and denotes the allowing of
others to partake or enjoy in common with ourselves.
Impart is more specific. It is giving to others a part
of what we had held as our own, or making them our
partners; as, to impart our feelings; to impart of our
property, etc. Hence there is something more intimate
in imparting intelligence than in communicating it. To
reveal is to disclose something hidden or concealed;
as, to reveal a secret.
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