fornicate
/ˈfɔː.nɪˌkeɪt/
"fornicate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“fornicate” is uncommon English (frequency #99,275 among 18,613 “F” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #99,275
- frequency rank, English
- 18,613
- “F” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To engage in fornication.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | fornicate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈfɔː.nɪˌkeɪt/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #99,275 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “fornicate” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
fornicate is uncommon English at frequency #99,275 among 18,613 “F” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈfɔː.nɪˌkeɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To engage in fornication.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for fornicate, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1552; borrowed from Latin fornicātus, perfect active participle of fornicor (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from fornix (“arch, vault; brothel”). It was customary for courtesans of the era to wait for their customers out of the rain in a… The correct English form is fornicate, spelled F-O-R-N-I-C-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To engage in fornication.
Etymology
First attested in 1552; borrowed from Latin fornicātus, perfect active participle of fornicor (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from fornix (“arch, vault; brothel”). It was customary for courtesans of the era to wait for their customers out of the rain in arched passageways.
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
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Using “fornicate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-O-R-N-I-C-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfɔː.nɪˌkeɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.