stimulate
/ˈstɪm.jəˌleɪt/verb
stimulate is spelled S-T-I-M-U-L-A-T-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 4.7 times per million words in written English, the 11,685th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, stimulate means “To encourage into action” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in stimulate?
| Letters | 9: S-T-I-M-U-L-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.7 times per million words; the 11,685th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is stimulate?
Stimulate appears 4.7 times per million words in written English, the 11,685th 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 stimulate?
- UK /ˈstɪm.jʊ.leɪt/
- US /ˈstɪm.jəˌleɪt/
Stimulate has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-stimulate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with stimulate?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as stimulate from its last stressed vowel (/ɪmjəleɪt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of stimulate
- stimulates present, singular, he/she/it
- stimulating participle, present
- stimulated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does stimulate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To encourage into action.
stimulate the economy
- 2
To arouse an organism to functional activity.
stimulate my mind
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Stimulate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to encourage into action:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | stimuler |
| German | stimulieren |
| Portuguese | estimular, incentivar |
| Spanish | estimular |
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 stimulate come from?
Borrowed from Latin stimulātus, perfect passive participle of stimulō (“to urge, goad on”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from Latin stimulus (“a sting or prick; a stimulus, goad”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).