ingratiate
/ɪnˈɡɹeɪ.ʃi.eɪt/
"ingratiate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ingratiate” is uncommon English (frequency #71,589 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #71,589
- frequency rank, English
- 2,140
- “I” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To bring oneself into favour with someone by flattering or trying to please them; to insinuate oneself; to worm one's way in.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ingratiate · ingratiate · English
ingratiate · rank #71,589 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #71,589
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,140
- PHOTO-FINISH inguinal
Nearest frequency peer: inguinal (+1 rank slots)
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.
Long-tail ranks near “ingratiate”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- imperceptib…
imperceptibly
28,416 corpus weight
- impoverishm…
impoverishment
28,415 corpus weight
- indeciphera…
indecipherable
28,414 corpus weight
- ingratiate
ingratiate
28,412 corpus weight
- inguinal
inguinal
28,411 corpus weight
- instrumenta…
instrumentality
28,408 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “ingratiate” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ingratiate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɪnˈɡɹeɪ.ʃi.eɪt/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #71,589 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “ingratiate” in English
Rare enough to double-check
ingratiate is uncommon English at frequency #71,589 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ɪnˈɡɹeɪ.ʃi.eɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for ingratiate, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1622. From Italian ingraziare or Medieval Latin *ingratiatus, from Latin in grātiam (“for the favor of”). The correct English form is ingratiate, spelled I-N-G-R-A-T-I-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To bring oneself into favour with someone by flattering or trying to please them; to insinuate oneself; to worm one's way in.
- 2To recommend; to render easy or agreeable.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ingratiate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
[H]e considered this offering an homage to his merits, and an attempt on the part of the heiress to ingratiate herself into his priceless affections.
[H]e would pat the children on the head when he saw them on the stairs, and ingratiate himself with them as far as he dared.
Etymology
First attested in 1622. From Italian ingraziare or Medieval Latin *ingratiatus, from Latin in grātiam (“for the favor of”).
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ingratiate", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).