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As kind of a real-life example, I'm struggling to write a description of the Crusades from the point of view of a Catholic pope. I know that through the Crusades, the Christians basically "rescued" the city of Jerusalem from the so-called "filth" that inhabited it. (Note: Please do not be offended by my use of the word "filth")

You might say there's a tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon going on here.

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    Which Pope? (btw, all Popes are Catholic; no need to mention it) And which Crusade? The Fourth Crusade, for instance, did not go according to the Pope's plan. At all. The First Crusade practiced by sacking Jewish communities all over Europe for several years before leaving to go get slaughtered by Moslems in Palestine. The Crusades don't look very good as either military or religious undertakings, and modern Popes are aware of this. But medieval Popes had other things on their minds, like staying alive.
    – John Lawler
    Commented Mar 22, 2015 at 0:35
  • You may be having a problem with "word finding". In extreme cases this is considered to be a form of anomia, dysnomia, or anomic aphasia.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Mar 22, 2015 at 4:22

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The first word that came to my mind was "articulate".

articulate verb: 3rd person present: articulates; past tense: articulated; past participle: articulated; gerund or present participle: articulating

1. express (an idea or feeling) fluently and coherently. "they were unable to articulate their emotions"

synonyms: express, voice, vocalize, put in words, communicate, state.
see, Google.com articulate

Or, of course, the circumstance OP describes (its lack), "inarticulate".

inarticulate adjective:

1. unable to speak distinctly or express oneself clearly. "he was inarticulate with abashment and regret"

synonyms: tongue-tied, lost for words, unable to express oneself. "an inarticulate young man" see, Google.com inarticulate

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