affiliate

/əˈfɪl.i.ət/

//əˈfɪl.i.ət// noun

"affiliate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“affiliate” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,195 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#7,195
frequency rank, English
9
letters
10
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Someone or something, especially, a television station, that is associated with a larger, related organization, such as a television network; a member of a group of associated things.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

affiliate vs affiliated
90% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for affiliate
PropertyValue
Headwordaffiliate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈfɪl.i.ət/
Letters9
Frequency rank#7,195
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “affiliate” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). affiliate lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for affiliate is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈfɪl.i.ət/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,195 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Someone or something, especially, a television station, that is associated with a larger, related organization, such as a television network; a member of a group of associated things.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for affiliate, with forms such as "affiilate", "affilaite", and "affiliaet". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "affiliated", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Medieval Latin affīliātus, the passive past participle of Late Latin adfīliō, affīliō (“to adopt as son”), from ad- + fīlius + -ō. Equivalent to Latin affīliō + -ate. Compare French affilié (noun). The correct English form is affiliate, spelled A-F-F-I-L-I-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Someone or something, especially, a television station, that is associated with a larger, related organization, such as a television network; a member of a group of associated things.

Etymology

From Medieval Latin affīliātus, the passive past participle of Late Latin adfīliō, affīliō (“to adopt as son”), from ad- + fīlius + -ō. Equivalent to Latin affīliō + -ate. Compare French affilié (noun).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: affiilate,affilaite,affiliaet,affiliatte,affilitae,affilliate,affliiate,afifliate,afiliate,fafiliate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of affiliate - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

affiilate2affilaite2affiliaet2affiliatte1affilitae2affilliate1affliiate2afifliate2
Edit distance from "affiliate"

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 "affiliate"?
"affiliate" is spelled A-F-F-I-L-I-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈfɪl.i.ət/.
What does "affiliate" mean?
As a noun, "affiliate" means: Someone or something, especially, a television station, that is associated with a larger, related organization, such as a television network; a member of a group of associated things.
What words are commonly confused with "affiliate"?
"affiliate" is commonly confused with "affiliated". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "affiliate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "affiliate" is /əˈfɪl.i.ət/. 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 "affiliate"?
From Medieval Latin affīliātus, the passive past participle of Late Latin adfīliō, affīliō (“to adopt as son”), from ad- + fīlius + -ō. Equivalent to Latin affīliō + -ate. Compare French affilié (noun). 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.

Using “affiliate”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is A-F-F-I-L-I-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /əˈfɪl.i.ət/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “affiliated” - see the side-by-side comparison. affiliate vs affiliated
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list