exuviate

/ɪɡˈzjuː.vɪ.eɪt/

//ɪɡˈzjuː.vɪ.eɪt// verb

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

The verdict

“exuviate” 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 shed or cast off a covering, especially a skin; to slough; to molt (moult).

Corpus desk

Index EN-exuviate · exuviate · English

exuviate · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "E" 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 exuviate
PropertyValue
Headwordexuviate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɪɡˈzjuː.vɪ.eɪt/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “exuviate” in English

exuviateranks 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

exuviate is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ɪɡˈzjuː.vɪ.eɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To shed or cast off a covering, especially a skin; to slough; to molt (moult).".

exuviate has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin exuviae (“what is shed”), from exuō (“cast off, strip”). The correct English form is exuviate, spelled E-X-U-V-I-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To shed or cast off a covering, especially a skin; to slough; to molt (moult).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how exuviate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Like any arthropod encased in a rigid exoskeleton, a trilobite must periodically moult, or exuviate, in order to grow.
  2. Although multicultural societies are difficult to manage, they need not become a political nightmare and might even become exciting if we exuviate our long traditional preoccupation with a culturally homogeneous and tightly structured polity and allow them instead to intimate their own appropriate institutional forms, modes of governance, and moral and po…

Etymology

From Latin exuviae (“what is shed”), from exuō (“cast off, strip”).

Synonyms

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "exuviate"?
"exuviate" is spelled E-X-U-V-I-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪɡˈzjuː.vɪ.eɪt/.
What does "exuviate" mean?
As a verb, "exuviate" means: To shed or cast off a covering, especially a skin; to slough; to molt (moult).
How do you pronounce "exuviate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "exuviate" is /ɪɡˈzjuː.vɪ.eɪt/. 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 "exuviate"?
From Latin exuviae (“what is shed”), from exuō (“cast off, strip”). 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list