engender
/ɛnˈd͡ʒɛn.dɚ/verb
engender is spelled E-N-G-E-N-D-E-R: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, engender means “To give existence to, to produce (living creatures)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in engender?
| Letters | 8: E-N-G-E-N-D-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,363rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is engender?
Engender appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd 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 engender?
- UK /ɪnˈdʒɛn.də/
- UK /ɛnˈdʒɛn.də/
- US /ɛnˈd͡ʒɛn.dɚ/
Engender has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-engender.ogg, En-au-engender.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with engender?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as engender from its last stressed vowel (/ɛndəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of engender
- engenders present, singular, he/she/it
- engendering participle, present
- engendered participle, past
- engendre
- ingender
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does engender mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo beget (of a man); to bear or conceive (of a woman).
- 2
To give existence to, to produce (living creatures).
- 3
To bring into existence (a situation, quality, result etc.); to give rise to, cause, create.
- 4
To assume form; to come into existence; to be caused or produced.
- 5
obsoleteTo copulate, to have sex.
- 6
To endow with gender; to create gender or enhance the importance of gender.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Engender in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to bring into existence, cause:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | engendrer, concevoir, donner le jour à, donner naissance à |
| German | erzeugen, hervorrufen, herbeiführen |
| Portuguese | engendrar |
| Spanish | engendrar |
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 engender come from?
From Middle English engendren, from Old French engendrer, from Latin ingenerāre.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).