inundate
/ˈɪn.ənˌdeɪt/
"inundate" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“inundate” is uncommon English (frequency #87,406 among 17,902 “I” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #87,406
- frequency rank, English
- 17,902
- “I” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To cover with large amounts of water; to flood.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | inundate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈɪn.ənˌdeɪt/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #87,406 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “inundate” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
inundate is uncommon English at frequency #87,406 among 17,902 “I” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈɪn.ənˌdeɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for inundate in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. 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: First attested in 1623; borrowed from Latin inundātus, the perfect passive participle of inundō (“to flood, overflow”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from in- + undō (“to overflow, wave”), from unda (“wave”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). The correct English form is inundate, spelled I-N-U-N-D-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To cover with large amounts of water; to flood.
- 2To overwhelm.
Etymology
First attested in 1623; borrowed from Latin inundātus, the perfect passive participle of inundō (“to flood, overflow”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from in- + undō (“to overflow, wave”), from unda (“wave”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix).
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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Using “inundate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-U-N-D-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɪn.ənˌdeɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.