passionate
pas·sion·ate/ˈpæʃənɪt/adjective
passionate is spelled P-A-S-S-I-O-N-A-T-E: 10 letters and 3 syllables (pas·sion·ate). It appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,138th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, passionate means “Given to strong feeling, sometimes romantic, sexual, or both” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in passionate?
| Letters | 10: P-A-S-S-I-O-N-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: pas·sion·ate |
| In writing | 12 times per million words; the 6,138th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is passionate?
Passionate appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,138th 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 passionate?
- /ˈpæʃənɪt/
- /ˈpæʃənət/
As a verb (“To fill with passion, or with another given emotion”): /ˈpæʃəneɪt/.
Passionate has 3 syllables, split pas·sion·ate in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-passionate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of passionate
- more passionate comparative
- most passionate superlative
- passionates present, singular, he/she/it
- passionating participle, present
- passionated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does passionate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Given to strong feeling, sometimes romantic, sexual, or both.
Mandy is a passionate lover.
- 2
Fired with intense feeling.
- 3
obsoleteSuffering; sorrowful.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo fill with passion, or with another given emotion.
- 2
obsoleteTo express with great emotion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Passionate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense fired with intense feeling:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | passionné |
| German | leidenschaftlich, intensiv, feurig, stürmisch, heißblütig, heiß |
| Portuguese | ardente |
| Spanish | apasionado |
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 passionate come from?
From Middle English passionat, from Medieval Latin passiōnātus (“affected, impassioned, libidinous, easely angered”). Equivalent to passion + -ate (adjective-forming suffix). Compare French passionné.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).