promulgate
/ˈpɹɒml̩.ɡeɪt/
"promulgate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“promulgate” is an uncommon English word, ranked #67,751 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #67,751
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To make known or make public.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | promulgate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈpɹɒml̩.ɡeɪt/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #67,751 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “promulgate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for promulgate is 10 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɹɒml̩.ɡeɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #67,751 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for promulgate in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English promulgaten, from Latin prōmulgātus, perfect passive participle of prōmulgō (“to make known, publish”), either from provulgō (“to make known, publish”), from pro (“forth”) + vulgō (“to publish”), or from mulgeō (“to bring forth… The correct English form is promulgate, spelled P-R-O-M-U-L-G-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To make known or make public.
- 2To put into effect as a regulation.
- 3To advocate on behalf of (something or someone, especially of an idea); to spread knowledge of and make more widely known.
- 4past participle of promulgate
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English promulgaten, from Latin prōmulgātus, perfect passive participle of prōmulgō (“to make known, publish”), either from provulgō (“to make known, publish”), from pro (“forth”) + vulgō (“to publish”), or from mulgeō (“to bring forth”, literally “to milk”); see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix). Doublet of promulge.
This word in other languages
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
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Using “promulgate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-O-M-U-L-G-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɹɒml̩.ɡeɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.