emulate
em·u·late/ˈɛm.jə.leɪt/verb
emulate is spelled E-M-U-L-A-T-E: 7 letters and 3 syllables (em·u·late). It appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,896th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, emulate means “To copy or imitate, especially a person” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in emulate?
| Letters | 7: E-M-U-L-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: em·u·late |
| In writing | 2.6 times per million words; the 16,896th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none 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 emulate?
Emulate appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,896th 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 emulate?
- UK /ˈɛm.jʊ.leɪt/
- US /ˈɛm.jə.leɪt/
- Australia /ˈem.jə.læɪt/
Emulate has 3 syllables, split em·u·late in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-emulate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of emulate
- emulates present, singular, he/she/it
- emulating participle, present
- emulated participle, past
- more emulate comparative
- most emulate superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does emulate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
archaicTo attempt to equal or be the same as.
- 2
To copy or imitate, especially a person.
People are endlessly fascinating, even if you'd never want to emulate them.
- 3
obsoleteTo feel a rivalry with; to be jealous of, to envy.
- 4
of a program or device: to imitate another program or device
adjective
- 1
obsoleteStriving to excel, ambitious, emulous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Emulate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 emulate come from?
First attested in 1586; borrowed from Latin aemulātus, perfect active participle of Latin aemulor (“to rival, emulate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).