fulminate
/ˈfʌlmɪneɪt/
"fulminate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“fulminate” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To make a verbal attack.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | fulminate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈfʌlmɪneɪt/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “fulminate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for fulminate is 9 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfʌlmɪneɪt/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
fulminate doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English fulminaten, borrowed from Latin fulminātus, perfect passive participle of fulminō (“to lighten, hurl or strike with lightning”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from fulmen (“lightning which strikes and sets on fire, thunderbo… The correct English form is fulminate, spelled F-U-L-M-I-N-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To make a verbal attack.
- 2To issue as a denunciation.
- 3To thunder or make a loud noise.
- 4To strike with lightning; to cause to explode.
- 5to act as lightning, appearing quickly and destructively
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English fulminaten, borrowed from Latin fulminātus, perfect passive participle of fulminō (“to lighten, hurl or strike with lightning”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from fulmen (“lightning which strikes and sets on fire, thunderbolt”), from earlier *fulgmen, *fulgimen, from fulgeō, fulgō (“flash, lighten”). Doublet of fulmine. More at fulgent.
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
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Using “fulminate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-U-L-M-I-N-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfʌlmɪneɪt/ (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
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.