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postulate

pos·tu·late/ˈpɑst͡ʃələt/noun, verb

postulate is spelled P-O-S-T-U-L-A-T-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables (pos·tu·late). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,073rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, postulate means “Something assumed without proof as being self-evident or generally accepted, especially when used as a basis for an argument. Sometimes distinguished…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of postulate is postulates.

How many letters and syllables are in postulate?

Letters9: P-O-S-T-U-L-A-T-E
Syllables3: pos·tu·late
In writingabout once in every 3 million words; the 47,073rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone 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 postulate?

Postulate appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,073rd 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 postulate?

  • UK /ˈpɒstjʊlət/
  • US /ˈpɑst͡ʃələt/
  • US /ˈpɑst͡ʃəˌleɪt/

As a verb (“To assume as a truthful or accurate premise or axiom…”): /ˈpɒstjʊleɪt/, /ˈpɑst͡ʃəˌleɪt/, /ˈpɔst͡ʃəlæɪt/.

Postulate has 3 syllables, split pos·tu·late in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-postulate-noun.ogg, En-us-postulate-verb.ogg, En-au-postulate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of postulate

  • postulates plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • postulating participle, present
  • postulated participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does postulate mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Something assumed without proof as being self-evident or generally accepted, especially when used as a basis for an argument. Sometimes distinguished from axioms as being relevant to a particular science or context, rather than universally true, and following from other axioms rather than being an absolute assumption.

  2. 2

    A fundamental element; a basic principle.

  3. 3

    An axiom.

  4. 4

    A requirement; a prerequisite.

verb

  1. 1

    To assume as a truthful or accurate premise or axiom, especially as a basis of an argument.

  2. 2

    To appoint or request one's appointment to an ecclesiastical office.

  3. 3

    obsoleteTo request, demand or claim for oneself.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Postulate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchpostulat (something assumed without proof as being…), postuler (to assume as a premise)
GermanPostulat (something assumed without proof as being…), postulieren (to assume as a premise), Axiom (logic: an axiom), Voraussetzung (requirement, prerequisite)
Portuguesepostulado (something assumed without proof as being…), postular (to assume as a premise), axioma (logic: an axiom)
Spanishpostulado (something assumed without proof as being…), postular (to assume as a premise)

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 postulate come from?

Borrowed from Latin postulātum, a neuter nominalization of postulātus, perfect passive participle of postulō, possibly from poscō. See -ate (noun-forming suffix) for more. Cognate with French postulat.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after postulate