militate
/ˈmɪlɪteɪt/verb
militate is spelled M-I-L-I-T-A-T-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 23 million words in written English, the 145,125th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, militate means “To give force or effect toward; to influence” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in militate?
| Letters | 8: M-I-L-I-T-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 23 million words; the 145,125th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none 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 militate?
Militate appears about once in every 23 million words in written English, the 145,125th 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 militate?
- /ˈmɪlɪteɪt/
Militate 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-militate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of militate
- militates present, singular, he/she/it
- militating participle, present
- militated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does militate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To give force or effect toward; to influence.
to militate in favor of a particular result
- 2
obsoleteTo serve as a soldier or participate in warfare.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Militate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to influence:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | militer |
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 militate come from?
First attested in 1598; borrowed from Latin mīlitātus, perfect passive participle from mīlitō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Semantically from its cognate, French militer.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).