cogitate
/ˈkəʊdʒɪteɪt/
"cogitate" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cogitate” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To meditate, to ponder, to think deeply.
Corpus desk
Index EN-cogitate · cogitate · English
cogitate · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cogitate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈkəʊdʒɪteɪt/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “cogitate” in English
Rare enough to double-check
cogitate is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈkəʊdʒɪteɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
cogitate doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1570; borrowed from Latin cōgitātus, perfect passive participle of cōgitō (“to think”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). The correct English form is cogitate, spelled C-O-G-I-T-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To meditate, to ponder, to think deeply.
- 2To consider, to devise.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how cogitate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He that calleth a thing into his mind, whether by impression or recordation, cogitateth and considereth, and he that employeth the faculty of his fancy also cogitateth.
Think, ladies! Cogitate! Sharpen up the edges of your wit.
Etymology
First attested in 1570; borrowed from Latin cōgitātus, perfect passive participle of cōgitō (“to think”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.