innovate
/ˈɪn.ə.veɪt/verb
innovate is spelled I-N-N-O-V-A-T-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, innovate means “To introduce something new to a particular environment; to do something new” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in innovate?
| Letters | 8: I-N-N-O-V-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is innovate?
Innovate appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce innovate?
- /ˈɪn.ə.veɪt/
Innovate has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-innovate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with innovate?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as innovate.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: venation.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of innovate
- innovates present, singular, he/she/it
- innovating participle, present
- innovated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does innovate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo alter, to change into something new; to revolutionize.
But the most frequent maladies are such as proceed from themselves, as first when religion and God's service is neglected, innovated or altered […].
- 2
To introduce something new to a particular environment; to do something new.
- 3
To introduce (something) as new.
to innovate a word or an act
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Innovate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to introduce something new:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | innover |
| German | innovieren, erneuern, neuern |
| Portuguese | inovar |
| Spanish | innovar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does innovate come from?
First attested in 1548; borrowed from Latin innovātus, perfect passive participle of innovō (“to renew”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).