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intermediate

/ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.di.ət/adjective, noun, verb

intermediate is spelled I-N-T-E-R-M-E-D-I-A-T-E: 12 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,674th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, intermediate means “Being between two extremes, or in the middle of a range” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in intermediate?

Letters12: I-N-T-E-R-M-E-D-I-A-T-E
Syllables5 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing11 times per million words; the 6,674th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

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).

How common is intermediate?

Intermediate appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,674th 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 intermediate?

  • /ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.di.ət/
  • /ˌɪn.tɚˈmi.di.ət/

As a verb (“To mediate, to be an intermediate”): /ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.diˌeɪt/, /ˌɪn.tɚˈmi.di.eɪt/.

Intermediate has 5 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-intermediate_(adj,_noun).wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-intermediate_(verb).wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Simplificationalizer-intermediate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of intermediate

  • more intermediate comparative
  • most intermediate superlative
  • intermediates plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • intermediating participle, present
  • intermediated participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does intermediate mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Being between two extremes, or in the middle of a range.

noun

  1. 1

    Anything in an intermediate position.

  2. 2

    An intermediary.

  3. 3

    An automobile that is larger than a compact but smaller than a full-sized car.

  4. 4

    Any substance formed as part of a series of chemical reactions that is not the end-product.

  5. 5

    Any such substance that is produced and sold to commercial customers (business-to-business sales) as an input to other chemical processes.

  6. 6

    A kind of tyre with relatively light grooving, used for conditions between fully dry and fully wet.

    Light rain was coming so he chose intermediate tyres.

verb

  1. 1

    To mediate, to be an intermediate.

  2. 2

    To arrange, in the manner of a broker.

    Central banks need to regulate the entities that intermediate monetary transactions.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate intermediate?

Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of intermediate: int, intmd.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Intermediate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchintermédiaire (being between two extremes, or in the middle of…), concilier (to mediate, to be an intermediate)
Portugueseintermediário, intermédio (being between two extremes, or in the middle of…), intermediar (to mediate, to be an intermediate)
Spanishintermedio (being between two extremes, or in the middle of…), intermediar (to mediate, to be an intermediate), intermediario (an intermediary)
Germanals Vermittler handeln (to mediate, to be an intermediate), Zwischenprodukt (any substance formed as part of a series of…)

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 intermediate come from?

Borrowed from Medieval Latin intermediātus, perfect passive participle of intermediō (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), further from intermedius (“intermediate”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after intermediate