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PlainSpell

communicate

com·mu·ni·cate/kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/verb

communicate is spelled C-O-M-M-U-N-I-C-A-T-E: 11 letters and 4 syllables (com·mu·ni·cate). It appears 16 times per million words in written English, the 5,121st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, communicate means “To impart or transmit (information or knowledge) to someone; to make known, to tell” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in communicate?

Letters11: C-O-M-M-U-N-I-C-A-T-E
Syllables4: com·mu·ni·cate
In writing16 times per million words; the 5,121st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is communicate?

Communicate appears 16 times per million words in written English, the 5,121st 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 communicate?

  • /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/

Communicate has 4 syllables, split com·mu·ni·cate in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-communicate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of communicate

  • communicates present, singular, he/she/it
  • communicating participle, present
  • communicated participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • more communicate comparative
  • most communicate superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does communicate mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To impart or transmit (information or knowledge) to someone; to make known, to tell.

    It is vital that I communicate this information to you.

  2. 2

    To impart or transmit (an intangible quantity, substance); to give a share of.

    to communicate motion by means of a crank

  3. 3

    To pass on (a disease) to another person, animal etc.

    The disease was mainly communicated via rats and other vermin.

  4. 4

    obsoleteTo share (in); to have in common, to partake of.

    We shall now consider those functions of intelligence which man communicates with the higher beasts.

  5. 5

    To receive the bread and wine at a celebration of the Eucharist; to take part in Holy Communion.

  6. 6

    To administer the Holy Communion to (someone).

  7. 7

    To express or convey ideas, either through verbal or nonverbal means; to have intercourse, to exchange information.

    Many deaf people communicate with sign language.

  8. 8

    To be connected by means of an opening or channel [with with ‘another room, vessel etc.’].

    The living room communicates with the back garden by these French windows.

adjective

  1. 1

    obsoleteCommunicated, (made) commune, joined.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Communicate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcommuniquer (to impart information or knowledge of; to make…), communier (to receive or take part in Holy Communion), se communiquer (to express or convey ideas, either through…)
Germanmitteilen, übermitteln, kommunizieren, kundtun (to impart information or knowledge of; to make…), weitergeben, weitertragen (to impart or transmit (to another); to give a…)
Portuguesecomunicar (to impart information or knowledge of; to make…), comungar (to receive or take part in Holy Communion)
Spanishcomulgar (to receive or take part in Holy Communion), comunicar, compartir (to share (in); to have in common, to partake of)

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 communicate come from?

Adapted borrowing of Latin commūnicāt- (past participial stem of commūnicō (“share, impart; make common”)) + -ate (verb-forming suffix), from commūnis (“common”) + -icō. Compare French communiquer and its older (and now obsolete) English cognate from Middle French, communique.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after communicate