consecrate
/ˈkɒnsəkɹeɪt/
"consecrate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“consecrate” is an uncommon English word, ranked #57,951 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #57,951
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To declare something holy, or make it holy by some procedure.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | consecrate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈkɒnsəkɹeɪt/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #57,951 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “consecrate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for consecrate is 10 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɒnsəkɹeɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #57,951 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for consecrate, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k- Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Indo-European *sh₂krós Proto-Italic *sakros Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-Europ… The correct English form is consecrate, spelled C-O-N-S-E-C-R-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To declare something holy, or make it holy by some procedure.
- 2To ordain as a bishop.
- 3To commit (oneself or one's time) solemnly to some aim or task.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k- Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Indo-European *sh₂krós Proto-Italic *sakros Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Proto-Italic *sakrāō Latin sacrō Latin cōnsecrōbor. Middle English consecraten English consecrate First attested in the late 14ᵗʰ century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English consecraten (“to dedicate, consecrate (an altar, church); to ordain (a bishop), anoint (a king, a pope); to devote one to religious life”), from consecrat(e) (“consecrated”, used as the past participle of consecraten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin cōnsecrātus, perfect passive participle of cōnsecrāre, see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Synonyms
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); 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
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Using “consecrate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-N-S-E-C-R-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɒnsəkɹeɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.