modulate
/ˈmɑ.d͡ʒəˌleɪt/verb
modulate is spelled M-O-D-U-L-A-T-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,832nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, modulate means “To change the pitch, intensity or tone of one's voice or of a musical instrument” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in modulate?
| Letters | 8: M-O-D-U-L-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 39,832nd 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 modulate?
Modulate appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,832nd 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 modulate?
- UK /ˈmɒd͡ʒɪleɪt/
- UK /ˈmɒd͡ʒəˌleɪt/
- US /ˈmɑ.d͡ʒəˌleɪt/
Modulate 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-modulate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of modulate
- modulates present, singular, he/she/it
- modulating participle, present
- modulated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does modulate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To change the pitch, intensity or tone of one's voice or of a musical instrument.
- 2
To vary the amplitude, frequency or phase of a carrier wave in proportion to the amplitude etc of a source wave (such as speech or music).
- 3
To move from one key or tonality to another, especially by using a chord progression.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Modulate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to regulate:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | moduler |
| German | modulieren |
| Portuguese | modular |
| Spanish | modular |
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 modulate come from?
From Latin modulor (“to measure, regulate, modulate”) + -ate (verb-forming suffix), from modulus (“measure”). Compare module, modulus. By surface analysis, modul(e) + -ate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).