abrogate

/ˈæ.bɹə.ɡət/

//ˈæ.bɹə.ɡət// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"abrogate" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“abrogate” is uncommon English (frequency #85,984 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#85,984
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To annul (as a law, decree, ordinance, etc.) by an authoritative act; to abolish by the authority of the maker or their successor; to repeal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-abrogate · abrogate · English

abrogate · rank #85,984 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #85,984
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH acanthus

Nearest frequency peer: acanthus (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “abrogate”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “abrogate” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for abrogate
PropertyValue
Headwordabrogate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈæ.bɹə.ɡət/
Letters8
Frequency rank#85,984
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “abrogate” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).abrogatefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “acanthus” (#85,985), “Acheron” (#85,986), “ACOG” (#85,987). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “abrogate” is #85,984. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

abrogate is uncommon English at frequency #85,984 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈæ.bɹə.ɡət/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

abrogate has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1526, from Middle English abrogat (“abolished”), from Latin abrogātus, perfect passive participle of abrogō (“repeal”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), formed from ab (“away”) + rogō (“ask, inquire, pro… The correct English form is abrogate, spelled A-B-R-O-G-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To annul (as a law, decree, ordinance, etc.) by an authoritative act; to abolish by the authority of the maker or their successor; to repeal.
  2. 2
    To put an end to; to do away with.
  3. 3
    To block a process or function.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how abrogate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. But let us look a little further, and see whether the New Testament abrogates what we see so frequently used in the Old.
  2. Whose laws, like those of the Medes and Persian, they cannot alter or abrogate.

Etymology

First attested in 1526, from Middle English abrogat (“abolished”), from Latin abrogātus, perfect passive participle of abrogō (“repeal”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), formed from ab (“away”) + rogō (“ask, inquire, propose”). See rogation.

Synonyms

abolishannulcountermandinvalidatenullifyoverruleoverturnquashrepealrescindretractreverserevokeset asidesupersedesuspendundovetovoidwaivewithdrawabjureannihilatecanceldissolvedo away withendobliterateobviaterecantsubvertterminatevitiatewipe out

Antonyms

establishfixpromulgate

This word in other languages

abrogar(Español)abschaffen(Deutsch)anular(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "abrogate"?
"abrogate" is spelled A-B-R-O-G-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæ.bɹə.ɡət/.
What does "abrogate" mean?
As a verb, "abrogate" means: To annul (as a law, decree, ordinance, etc.) by an authoritative act; to abolish by the authority of the maker or their successor; to repeal.
How do you pronounce "abrogate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abrogate" is /ˈæ.bɹə.ɡət/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "abrogate"?
First attested in 1526, from Middle English abrogat (“abolished”), from Latin abrogātus, perfect passive participle of abrogō (“repeal”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), formed from ab (“away”) + rogō (“ask, in... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "abrogate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

acanthus#85,985acrylate#85,988affixing#85,992arpeggio#86,024

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list