fustigate

verb

"fustigate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fustigate” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To hit someone with a club.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fustigate · fustigate · English

fustigate · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" 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 fustigate
PropertyValue
Headwordfustigate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “fustigate” in English

fustigateranks 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

fustigate is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for fustigate in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1656; borrowed from Latin fūstīgātus, perfect passive participle of fūstīgō (“to cudgel to death”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from fūstis (“a cudgel”) + -igō. The correct English form is fustigate, spelled F-U-S-T-I-G-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To hit someone with a club.
  2. 2
    To harshly criticize someone.

Etymology

First attested in 1656; borrowed from Latin fūstīgātus, perfect passive participle of fūstīgō (“to cudgel to death”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from fūstis (“a cudgel”) + -igō.

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 "fustigate"?
"fustigate" is spelled F-U-S-T-I-G-A-T-E.
What does "fustigate" mean?
As a verb, "fustigate" means: To hit someone with a club.
What is the origin of the word "fustigate"?
First attested in 1656; borrowed from Latin fūstīgātus, perfect passive participle of fūstīgō (“to cudgel to death”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from fūstis (“a cudgel”) + -igō. 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