ovate
/ˈəʊ.veɪt/
"ovate" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ovate” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #48,398 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #48,398
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 10
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Shaped like an egg.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ovate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈəʊ.veɪt/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #48,398 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 10 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ovate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ovate is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈəʊ.veɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #48,398 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for ovate, with forms such as "oavte", "ovaet", and "ovatte". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "ova", "oat", "oval", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin ōvātus, from ōvum (“an egg”) + -ātus; see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix). The correct English form is ovate, spelled O-V-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1Shaped like an egg.
- 2With the broadest extremity near the base.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin ōvātus, from ōvum (“an egg”) + -ātus; see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: oavte,ovaet,ovatte,ovtae,ovvate,voate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ovate - 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.
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 "ovate"?
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Using “ovate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-V-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈəʊ.veɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “ova” - see the side-by-side comparison. ovate vs ova
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.