agitate

/ˈæ.d͡ʒɪ.teɪt/

//ˈæ.d͡ʒɪ.teɪt// verb

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

"agitate" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“agitate” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #44,602. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#44,602
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To disturb or excite; to perturb or stir up (a person).

Corpus desk

Index EN-agitate · agitate · English

agitate · rank #44,602 · 9 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #44,602
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH aghast

Nearest frequency peer: aghast (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “agitate”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “agitate” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

agitate vs animate
71% similar
agitate vs agitated
88% similar
agitate vs agitator
75% similar

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

Key facts for agitate
PropertyValue
Headwordagitate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈæ.d͡ʒɪ.teɪt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#44,602
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “agitate” 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).agitatelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “aghast” (#44,601), “AGS” (#44,603), “afterglow” (#44,600). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around agitate (IPA /ˈæ.d͡ʒɪ.teɪt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #44,602 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for agitate, with forms such as "aggitate", "agiatte", and "agitaet". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "animate", "agitated", "agitator", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English agitat(e) (“set in motion”), borrowed from Latin agitātus, perfect passive participle of agitō (“to put in motion”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), frequentative of agō (“to drive, move, push”), see -tō. Cognate with French agiter. See… The correct English form is agitate, spelled A-G-I-T-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To disturb or excite; to perturb or stir up (a person).
  2. 2
    To cause to move with a violent, irregular action; to shake.
  3. 3
    To participate in political agitation (sense 3).
  4. 4
    To set in motion; to actuate.
  5. 5
    To discuss or debate.
  6. 6
    To mull over, or think deeply about; to consider, to devise.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He was greatly agitated by the news.
  2. to agitate water in a vessel

Etymology

From Middle English agitat(e) (“set in motion”), borrowed from Latin agitātus, perfect passive participle of agitō (“to put in motion”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), frequentative of agō (“to drive, move, push”), see -tō. Cognate with French agiter. See also act and agent.

This word in other languages

agitar(Español)aufwühlen(Deutsch)agitar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aggitate
  • agiatte
  • agitaet
  • agitatte
  • agittae
  • agittate
  • agtiate
  • aigtate
  • gaitate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of agitate - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

aggitate1agiatte2agitaet2agitatte1agittae2agittate1agtiate2aigtate2
Edit distance from "agitate"

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 "agitate"?
"agitate" is spelled A-G-I-T-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæ.d͡ʒɪ.teɪt/.
What does "agitate" mean?
As a verb, "agitate" means: To disturb or excite; to perturb or stir up (a person).
What words are commonly confused with "agitate"?
"agitate" is commonly confused with "animate", "agitated", "agitator". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "agitate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "agitate" is /ˈæ.d͡ʒɪ.teɪt/. 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 "agitate"?
From Middle English agitat(e) (“set in motion”), borrowed from Latin agitātus, perfect passive participle of agitō (“to put in motion”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), frequentative of agō (“to drive, move, push”), see -tō. Cognate with French a... 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 "agitate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

adaptor#44,595Banbury#44,634wattage#44,567Wakanda#44,563

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

aghast9 variantsAnselm9 variantsAyrton9 variantsBrecon9 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "agitate". Here's where to go from here.

  • "agitate" maps to 5 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "animate". View pair
  • 9 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #44,602 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "A" letter cohort. A–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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