inaugurate
/ɪˈnɔːɡjʊ.ɹeɪt/
"inaugurate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“inaugurate” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #48,815 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #48,815
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To induct (someone) into a dignity or office with a formal ceremony.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | inaugurate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɪˈnɔːɡjʊ.ɹeɪt/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #48,815 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “inaugurate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for inaugurate is 10 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪˈnɔːɡjʊ.ɹeɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #48,815 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for inaugurate, with forms such as "ianugurate", "inaguurate", and "inauggurate". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "inaugural", "inaccurate", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Either: * borrowed from French inaugurer (“to inaugurate”), from Latin inaugurō (“to take omens from the flight of birds, to divine, practise augury; to approve, consecrate, or inaugurate on the basis of omens; to install”) with common assimilation of Frenc… The correct English form is inaugurate, spelled I-N-A-U-G-U-R-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To induct (someone) into a dignity or office with a formal ceremony.
- 2To dedicate (a building, monument, etc.) for public use by a formal ceremony.
- 3To initiate or usher in (something, as a (significant) course of action, development, organization, or period of time) with a formal ceremony or in a ceremonious manner; also (loosely), to begin or commence (something); to start.
- 4To cause (something) to be auspicious or good-omened; also, to declare or make (something) holy; to consecrate, to sanctify.
Etymology
Either: * borrowed from French inaugurer (“to inaugurate”), from Latin inaugurō (“to take omens from the flight of birds, to divine, practise augury; to approve, consecrate, or inaugurate on the basis of omens; to install”) with common assimilation of French -er with English -ate (verb-forming suffix) * or a Learned borrowing from Latin inaugurātus, perfect passive participle of inaugurō, see etymology at -ate; Further from in- (“against; into; on, upon; to, towards”) + augurō (“to act as an augur, interpret omens, augur; to foretell, predict; to conjecture, guess”), from augur (“soothsayer, augur”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix) (further etymology uncertain; see the entry).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ianugurate,inaguurate,inauggurate,inaugruate,inauguarte,inauguraet,inauguratte,inaugurrate,inaugurtae,inauugrate,innaugurate,inuagurate,niaugurate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of inaugurate - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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
How do you spell "inaugurate"?
What does "inaugurate" mean?
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Using “inaugurate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-A-U-G-U-R-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪˈnɔːɡjʊ.ɹeɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “inaugural” - see the side-by-side comparison. inaugurate vs inaugural
- 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.