dentate

/ˈdɛnteɪt/

//ˈdɛnteɪt// adj

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

The verdict

“dentate” is uncommon English (frequency #69,784 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#69,784
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having teeth or toothlike projections; serrated, toothed.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dentate · dentate · English

dentate · rank #69,784 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #69,784
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH deign

Nearest frequency peer: deign (-3 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.

Long-tail ranks near “dentate”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “dentate” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for dentate
PropertyValue
Headworddentate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈdɛnteɪt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#69,784
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “dentate” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).dentatefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “deign” (#69,781), “dibble” (#69,787), “diggity” (#69,788). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dentate” is #69,784. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

dentate is uncommon English at frequency #69,784 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈdɛnteɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Having teeth or toothlike projections; serrated, toothed.".

No misspelling variants are generated for dentate in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin dentātus, from dēns (“tooth”, oblique stem in dēnt-) + -ātus, see -ate (adjective-forming suffix). The correct English form is dentate, spelled D-E-N-T-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having teeth or toothlike projections; serrated, toothed.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dentātus, from dēns (“tooth”, oblique stem in dēnt-) + -ātus, see -ate (adjective-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); 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 "dentate"?
"dentate" is spelled D-E-N-T-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɛnteɪt/.
What does "dentate" mean?
As an adjective, "dentate" means: Having teeth or toothlike projections; serrated, toothed.
How do you pronounce "dentate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dentate" is /ˈdɛnteɪt/. 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 "dentate"?
Borrowed from Latin dentātus, from dēns (“tooth”, oblique stem in dēnt-) + -ātus, see -ate (adjective-forming suffix). 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 "dentate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list