imprecate
/ˈɪmpɹəkeɪt/
"imprecate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“imprecate” 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 call down by prayer, as something hurtful or calamitous.
Corpus desk
Index EN-imprecate · imprecate · English
imprecate · 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 "I" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | imprecate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈɪmpɹəkeɪt/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “imprecate” in English
Rare enough to double-check
imprecate is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈɪmpɹəkeɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To call down by prayer, as something hurtful or calamitous.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for imprecate, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin imprecātus, perfect active participle of imprecor (“to invoke (good or evil) upon, pray to, call upon”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from in- (“upon”) + precor (“to pray”). The correct English form is imprecate, spelled I-M-P-R-E-C-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To call down by prayer, as something hurtful or calamitous.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how imprecate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
To sailors, oaths are household words; they will swear in the trance of the calm, and in the teeth of the tempest; they will imprecate curses from the topsail-yard-arms, when most they teeter over to a seething sea; [...]
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin imprecātus, perfect active participle of imprecor (“to invoke (good or evil) upon, pray to, call upon”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from in- (“upon”) + precor (“to pray”).
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.