acetate
/ˈæsɪteɪ̯t/
"acetate" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“acetate” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #23,738 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #23,738
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any ester or salt of acetic acid.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | acetate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈæsɪteɪ̯t/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #23,738 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “acetate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for acetate is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈæsɪteɪ̯t/. Corpus data places it at rank #23,738 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for acetate, with forms such as "accetate", "aceatte", and "acetaet". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "acetone", "agitate", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Formed from the root of Latin acētum (“vinegar”) + -ate, from aceō (“I am sour”). By surface analysis, acet- + -ate. The correct English form is acetate, spelled A-C-E-T-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1Any ester or salt of acetic acid.
- 2Cellulose acetate.
- 3A transparent sheet used for overlays, whether of cellulose acetate or (loosely) any macroscopically similar plastic.
- 4In full acetate disc: a disc of aluminium covered in a wax used to make demonstration copies of a phonograph record.
Etymology
Formed from the root of Latin acētum (“vinegar”) + -ate, from aceō (“I am sour”). By surface analysis, acet- + -ate.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: accetate,aceatte,acetaet,acetatte,acettae,acettate,acteate,aectate,caetate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of acetate - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “acetate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-C-E-T-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈæsɪteɪ̯t/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “acetone” - see the side-by-side comparison. acetate vs acetone
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.