actuate
/ˈækt͡ʃu.eɪt/verb
actuate is spelled A-C-T-U-A-T-E: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 84,254th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, actuate means “To activate, or to put into motion; to animate” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in actuate?
| Letters | 7: A-C-T-U-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 84,254th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is actuate?
Actuate appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 84,254th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce actuate?
- UK /ˈæktʃu.eɪt/
- UK /ˈæktju.eɪt/
- US /ˈækt͡ʃu.eɪt/
Actuate has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-actuate.ogg, En-au-actuate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of actuate
- actuates present, singular, he/she/it
- actuating participle, present
- actuated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does actuate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To activate, or to put into motion; to animate.
Wings, which others were contriving to actuate by the perpetual motion.
- 2
To incite to action; to motivate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Actuate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | in Gang setzen, aktivieren , antreiben, anstacheln, motivieren, bewegen |
| Spanish | accionar |
| Portuguese | estimular |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does actuate come from?
From Medieval Latin āctuātus, perfect passive participle of āctuō (“actuate, implement”), from Latin āctus, perfect passive participle of agō (“do, act”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).