palpitate
/ˈpælpɪteɪt/verb
palpitate is spelled P-A-L-P-I-T-A-T-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 55 million words in written English, the 231,291st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, palpitate means “To beat strongly or rapidly; said especially of the heart” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in palpitate?
| Letters | 9: P-A-L-P-I-T-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 55 million words; the 231,291st 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 palpitate?
Palpitate appears about once in every 55 million words in written English, the 231,291st 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 palpitate?
- /ˈpælpɪteɪt/
Palpitate 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-palpitate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of palpitate
- palpitates present, singular, he/she/it
- palpitating participle, present
- palpitated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does palpitate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To beat strongly or rapidly; said especially of the heart.
When he just looks at me, my heart begins to palpitate with excitement.
- 2
To cause to beat strongly or rapidly.
The allergy medicine palpitates my heart.
- 3
To shake tremulously
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does palpitate come from?
Borrowed from Latin palpitō, palpitātus (“throb, pulsate, palpitate”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).