pulsate
/ˈpʌl.seɪt/verb
pulsate is spelled P-U-L-S-A-T-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 118,441st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, pulsate means “To expand and contract rhythmically; to throb or to beat, exhibit a pulse” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pulsate?
| Letters | 7: P-U-L-S-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 15 million words; the 118,441st 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 pulsate?
Pulsate appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 118,441st 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 pulsate?
- UK /pʌlˈseɪt/
- UK /ˈpʌl.seɪt/
- US /ˈpʌl.seɪt/
Pulsate has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-pulsate.ogg, En-au-pulsate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pulsate
- pulsates present, singular, he/she/it
- pulsating participle, present
- pulsated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pulsate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To expand and contract rhythmically; to throb or to beat, exhibit a pulse.
- 2
To quiver, vibrate, or flash; as to the beat of music.
The party pulsated with revellers.
- 3
To pulse, to be full of life, energy: to bustle, thrive, flourish.
- 4
To produce a recurring increase and decrease of some quantity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pulsate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to expand and contract rhythmically; to throb or to beat:
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 pulsate come from?
Perhaps formed within English as a back-formation from pulsation (attested from the early 15th century, in Middle English). A figurative derivation from New Latin pulsō, pulsātum (“(of an organ) to pulse, to emit a pulse”, intransitive) is also possible, itself a back-formation of New Latin pulsātiō (“pulsation”, 14th century), or derived from classical Latin pulsō (“to strike repeatedly”, transitive) with semantic influence from classical pulsus (“a pulse”). Ultimately from Latin pellō (“to strike”). By surface analysis, pulse + -ate (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of push.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).