salivate
/ˈsælɪveɪt/
"salivate" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“salivate” is uncommon English (frequency #82,749 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #82,749
- frequency rank, English
- 54,294
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To produce saliva.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | salivate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈsælɪveɪt/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #82,749 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “salivate” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
salivate is uncommon English at frequency #82,749 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈsælɪveɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for salivate in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin salivatus, past participle of salivare (“to spit out, also salivate”), from saliva (“spittle”). The correct English form is salivate, spelled S-A-L-I-V-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To produce saliva.
- 2To show eager anticipation at the expectation of something.
Etymology
From Latin salivatus, past participle of salivare (“to spit out, also salivate”), from saliva (“spittle”).
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 “salivate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-A-L-I-V-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsælɪveɪt/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.