delirate

/ˈdɛlɪɹeɪt/

//ˈdɛlɪɹeɪt// verb

"delirate" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“delirate” 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 act, speak or reason in a manner thought insane, to be affected or characterized by delirium; to rave.

Corpus desk

Index EN-delirate · delirate · English

delirate · 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 "D" 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.

Key facts for delirate
PropertyValue
Headworddelirate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈdɛlɪɹeɪt/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “delirate” in English

delirateranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

delirate is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈdɛlɪɹeɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for delirate, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1623; borrowed from Latin dēlīrātus, perfect passive participle of dēlīrō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French délirer. The correct English form is delirate, spelled D-E-L-I-R-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To act, speak or reason in a manner thought insane, to be affected or characterized by delirium; to rave.
  2. 2
    To madden, to make crazy.

Etymology

First attested in 1623; borrowed from Latin dēlīrātus, perfect passive participle of dēlīrō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French délirer.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "delirate"?
"delirate" is spelled D-E-L-I-R-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɛlɪɹeɪt/.
What does "delirate" mean?
As a verb, "delirate" means: To act, speak or reason in a manner thought insane, to be affected or characterized by delirium; to rave.
How do you pronounce "delirate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "delirate" is /ˈdɛlɪɹeɪt/. 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 "delirate"?
First attested in 1623; borrowed from Latin dēlīrātus, perfect passive participle of dēlīrō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French délirer. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list