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elevate

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

7 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "elevate", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "elevate" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "elevate" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

elevate is aEnglishverb. It means: To raise (something) to a higher position. Pronounced /ˈɛləveɪt/. Often confused with elevated and elevator.

Key facts for elevate
PropertyValue
Headwordelevate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈɛləveɪt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#17,606
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of elevate in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for elevate is 7 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɛləveɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,606 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for elevate, with forms such as "eelvate", "eleavte", and "elevaet". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "elevated", "elevator", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English elevaten (“to raise up, erect; to elate, inflate (e.g. with pride); (alchemy) to vaporize; (of a bone, excressence, blood vessel) to protrude”), from elevat(e) (“(in physical elevation, in rank, in altitude above the horizon) high”, also… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is elevate, spelled E-L-E-V-A-T-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    To raise (something) to a higher position.
  2. 2
    To promote (someone) to a higher rank.
  3. 3
    To promote (someone) to a higher rank.
  4. 4
    To confer honor or nobility on (someone).
  5. 5
    To make (something or someone) more worthy or of greater value.
  6. 6
    To direct (the mind, thoughts, etc.) toward more worthy things.
  7. 7
    To increase the intensity or degree of (something).
  8. 8
    To increase the intensity or degree of (something).
  9. 9
    To lift the spirits of (someone)
  10. 10
    To intoxicate in a slight degree; to make (someone) tipsy.
  11. 11
    To attempt to make (something) seem less important, remarkable, etc.

Etymology

From Middle English elevaten (“to raise up, erect; to elate, inflate (e.g. with pride); (alchemy) to vaporize; (of a bone, excressence, blood vessel) to protrude”), from elevat(e) (“(in physical elevation, in rank, in altitude above the horizon) high”, also used as the past participle of elevaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), further from Latin ēlevātus, the perfect passive participle of ēlevō (“to raise, lift up”), from ē- (“out”) + levō (“to make light, to lift”), from levis (“light”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix); see levity and lever.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: eelvate,eleavte,elevaet,elevatte,elevtae,elevvate,ellevate,elveate,leevate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for elevate

Misspelling Variants of "elevate"

eelvate7eleavte7elevaet7elevatte8elevtae7elevvate8ellevate8elveate7
Misspelling Variants of "elevate"

Frequency rank: #17,606 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "elevate"?
"elevate" is spelled E-L-E-V-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɛləveɪt/.
What does "elevate" mean?
As a verb, "elevate" means: To raise (something) to a higher position.
What words are commonly confused with "elevate"?
"elevate" is commonly confused with "elevated", "elevator". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "elevate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "elevate" is /ˈɛləveɪt/. 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 "elevate"?
From Middle English elevaten (“to raise up, erect; to elate, inflate (e.g. with pride); (alchemy) to vaporize; (of a bone, excressence, blood vessel) to protrude”), from elevat(e) (“(in physical elevation, in rank, in altitude above the horizon) h... 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter E in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.