particulate
/pɑːˈtɪk.jʊ.lɪt/
"particulate" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“particulate” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #27,592 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #27,592
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Composed of separate particles.
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 | particulate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /pɑːˈtɪk.jʊ.lɪt/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #27,592 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “particulate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for particulate is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɑːˈtɪk.jʊ.lɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #27,592 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 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for particulate, with forms such as "aprticulate", "paritculate", and "parrticulate". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "particulates", "particular", "participate", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From New Latin particulātus (“divided into small parts”) (also particulāta (“small parts”), from its neuter plural), from Classical Latin particula (“particle”), from pars (“part, piece”) + -cula (diminutive suffix), + -ātus (-ate). The verb is probably ind… The correct English form is particulate, spelled P-A-R-T-I-C-U-L-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1Composed of separate particles.
- 2Pertaining to heritable characteristics which are attributable discretely to either one or another of an offspring's parents, rather than a blend of the two.
Etymology
From New Latin particulātus (“divided into small parts”) (also particulāta (“small parts”), from its neuter plural), from Classical Latin particula (“particle”), from pars (“part, piece”) + -cula (diminutive suffix), + -ātus (-ate). The verb is probably independently from the adjective rather than from Etymology 2.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: aprticulate,paritculate,parrticulate,partciulate,particculate,particluate,particualte,particulaet,particulatte,particullate,particultae,partiuclate,partticulate,patriculate,pparticulate,praticulate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of particulate - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "particulate"?
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Using “particulate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-R-T-I-C-U-L-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pɑːˈtɪk.jʊ.lɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “particulates” - see the side-by-side comparison. particulate vs particulates
- 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.