populate

/ˈpɒp.jʊˌleɪt/

//ˈpɒp.jʊˌleɪt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"populate" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“populate” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,228. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,228
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To supply with inhabitants; to people.

Corpus desk

Index EN-populate · populate · English

populate · rank #34,228 · 11 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #34,228
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pizzeria

Nearest frequency peer: pizzeria (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “populate”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “populate” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

populate vs postulate
78% similar
populate vs popular
75% similar
populate vs populace
88% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for populate
PropertyValue
Headwordpopulate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈpɒp.jʊˌleɪt/
Letters8
Frequency rank#34,228
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “populate”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).populatelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “pizzeria” (#34,227), “posthumously” (#34,229), “pigmentation” (#34,226). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “populate” is #34,228. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around populate (IPA /ˈpɒp.jʊˌleɪt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #34,228 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for populate, with forms such as "oppulate", "popluate", and "poppulate". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "postulate", "popular", "populace", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Medieval Latin populātus, past participle of populor (“populate”), from Latin populus (“people”). The correct English form is populate, spelled P-O-P-U-L-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To supply with inhabitants; to people.
  2. 2
    To live in; to inhabit.
  3. 3
    To increase in number; to breed.
  4. 4
    To fill initially empty items in a collection.
  5. 5
    To fill initially empty slots or sockets on a circuit board or similar.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how populate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. John clicked the Search button and waited for the list to populate.
  2. Clicking the refresh button will populate the grid.

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin populātus, past participle of populor (“populate”), from Latin populus (“people”).

Antonyms

depopulate

This word in other languages

poblar(Español)peupler(Français)besiedeln(Deutsch)povoar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • oppulate
  • popluate
  • poppulate
  • popualte
  • populaet
  • populatte
  • popullate
  • popultae
  • pouplate
  • ppopulate
  • ppoulate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of populate - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

oppulate2popluate2poppulate1popualte2populaet2populatte1popullate1popultae2
Edit distance from "populate"

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 "populate"?
"populate" is spelled P-O-P-U-L-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɒp.jʊˌleɪt/.
What does "populate" mean?
As a verb, "populate" means: To supply with inhabitants; to people.
What words are commonly confused with "populate"?
"populate" is commonly confused with "postulate", "popular", "populace". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "populate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "populate" is /ˈpɒp.jʊˌleɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "populate"?
Borrowed from Medieval Latin populātus, past participle of populor (“populate”), from Latin populus (“people”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "populate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pizzeria#34,227preamble#34,232punisher#34,242Pyrenees#34,245

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Ptolemy11 variantspulsing11 variantsRadford11 variantsnautilus11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list