sublimate
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
Detailed reference entry for the English word "sublimate", 9-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "sublimate" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "sublimate" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
The verdict
“sublimate” is an uncommon English word, ranked #95,468 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #95,468
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
Dominant Wiktionary sense: To heat (a substance) in a container so as to convert it into a gas which then condenses in solid form on cooler parts of the container.
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See how sublimate compares against similar English words.
Browse all word comparisons →| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sublimate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈsʌblɪmeɪt/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #95,468 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sublimate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for sublimate is 9 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsʌblɪmeɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #95,468 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for sublimate in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sublymate, from Latin sublīmātus, past participle of sublīmāre (“to raise, elevate”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is sublimate, spelled S-U-B-L-I-M-A-T-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1To heat (a substance) in a container so as to convert it into a gas which then condenses in solid form on cooler parts of the container.
- 2To heat (a substance) in a container so as to convert it into a gas which then condenses in solid form on cooler parts of the container.
- 3To refine (something) until it disappears or loses all meaning.
- 4To modify (the natural expression of a sexual or primitive instinct) in a socially acceptable manner; to divert the energy of (such an instinct) into some acceptable activity.
- 5To obtain (something) through, or as if through, sublimation.
- 6To purify or refine (a substance).
- 7Synonym of sublime.
- 8Synonym of sublime.
- 9Of a substance: to change from a solid into a gas without passing through the liquid state, with or without being heated.
- 10Of a substance: to change from a gas into a solid without passing through the liquid state.
- 11To modify the natural expression of a sexual or primitive instinct in a socially acceptable manner; to divert the energy of such an instinct into some acceptable activity.
- 12Synonym of sublime (“to become higher in quality or status; to improve”).
Etymology
From Middle English sublymate, from Latin sublīmātus, past participle of sublīmāre (“to raise, elevate”).
This word in other languages
Frequency rank: #95,468 in English
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “sublimate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-U-B-L-I-M-A-T-E — every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsʌblɪmeɪt/ (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
Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter S in our English index: