legislate

/ˈlɛd͡ʒɪsˌleɪt/

//ˈlɛd͡ʒɪsˌleɪt// verb

"legislate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“legislate” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,610. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#28,610
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To pass laws (including the amending or repeal of existing laws).

Corpus desk

Index EN-legislate · legislate · English

legislate · rank #28,610 · 13 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #28,610
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH lashed

Nearest frequency peer: lashed (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “legislate”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “legislate” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

legislate vs legislator
80% similar
legislate vs legislative
82% similar
legislate vs legislature
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for legislate
PropertyValue
Headwordlegislate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈlɛd͡ʒɪsˌleɪt/
Letters9
Frequency rank#28,610
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “legislate”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).legislatelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “lashed” (#28,609), “Liberian” (#28,611), “landline” (#28,608). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “legislate” is #28,610. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around legislate (IPA /ˈlɛd͡ʒɪsˌleɪt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #28,610 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Dominant gloss: "To pass laws (including the amending or repeal of existing laws).".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for legislate, with forms such as "elgislate", "leggislate", and "legilsate". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "legislator", "legislative", "legislature", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Back-formation from legislation, legislator. The correct English form is legislate, spelled L-E-G-I-S-L-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To pass laws (including the amending or repeal of existing laws).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how legislate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. If they can't get people to do the right thing by talking then they will try to legislate and enforce the statutes.
  2. Candidates always promise to legislate change.

Etymology

Back-formation from legislation, legislator.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elgislate
  • leggislate
  • legilsate
  • legisalte
  • legislaet
  • legislatte
  • legisllate
  • legisltae
  • legisslate
  • legsilate
  • leigslate
  • lgeislate
  • llegislate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of legislate - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

elgislate2leggislate1legilsate2legisalte2legislaet2legislatte1legisllate1legisltae2
Edit distance from "legislate"

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 "legislate"?
"legislate" is spelled L-E-G-I-S-L-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɛd͡ʒɪsˌleɪt/.
What does "legislate" mean?
As a verb, "legislate" means: To pass laws (including the amending or repeal of existing laws).
What words are commonly confused with "legislate"?
"legislate" is commonly confused with "legislator", "legislative", "legislature". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "legislate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "legislate" is /ˈlɛd͡ʒɪsˌleɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "legislate"?
Back-formation from legislation, legislator. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "legislate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list