ovate
/ˈoʊ.veɪt/adjective, noun, verb
ovate is spelled O-V-A-T-E: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,230th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, ovate means “Shaped like an egg” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ovate?
| Letters | 5: O-V-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 48,230th 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 ovate?
Ovate appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,230th 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 ovate?
- UK /ˈəʊ.veɪt/
- US /ˈoʊ.veɪt/
- Australia /ˈəʉ.væɪt/
Ovate has 2 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-ovate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ovate
- more ovate comparative
- most ovate superlative
- ovates plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- ovating participle, present
- ovated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ovate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Shaped like an egg.
- 2
With the broadest extremity near the base.
noun
- 1
An egg-shaped hand axe.
- 2
An Irish bard.
- 3
A member at a certain grade of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, a neo-druidism order based in England.
- 4
A modern-day bard of a gorsedd, especially one acknowledged at an eisteddfod.
verb
- 1
rareTo give someone an ovation.
- 2
rareTo applaud enthusiastically.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ovate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense botany, of leaves: broadest near the base:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | aovada |
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 ovate come from?
Borrowed from Latin ōvātus, from ōvum (“an egg”) + -ātus; see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).