sulfate

/ˈsʌlfeɪt/

//ˈsʌlfeɪt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"sulfate" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sulfate” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,830. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,830
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any salt or ester of sulfuric acid.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sulfate · sulfate · English

sulfate · rank #22,830 · 10 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #22,830
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Suez

Nearest frequency peer: Suez (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “sulfate”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “sulfate” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sulfate vs surface
71% similar
sulfate vs sulfide
71% similar
sulfate vs sulphate
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sulfate
PropertyValue
Headwordsulfate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsʌlfeɪt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#22,830
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sulfate”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).sulfatelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Suez” (#22,829), “Sumner” (#22,831), “structurally” (#22,828). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sulfate” is #22,830. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around sulfate (IPA /ˈsʌlfeɪt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,830 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Any salt or ester of sulfuric acid.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for sulfate, with forms such as "slufate", "ssulfate", and "suflate". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "surface", "sulfide", "sulphate", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French sulfate, from New Latin sulphatum, taken from the expression acidum sulphatum (“sulfuric acid”), from sulphatus, from Latin sulphur (“sulfur”). The term was first used in 1787 by the French chemist L. B. G. De Morveau. Equivalent to sulf(ur) + -… The correct English form is sulfate, spelled S-U-L-F-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any salt or ester of sulfuric acid.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how sulfate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Another type, also common in the Taipei area has more chlorides than sulfates, and while it is also hot, its flavor is more salty than sour. The springs at Chinshan on the north coast are typical of this type.
  2. Iatrogenic poisoning can result from the use of magnesium in the treatment of hypertension or of toxemia of pregnancy; deaths have been reported from the use of magnesium sulfate enemas in megacolon and from oral administration for purging.

Etymology

From French sulfate, from New Latin sulphatum, taken from the expression acidum sulphatum (“sulfuric acid”), from sulphatus, from Latin sulphur (“sulfur”). The term was first used in 1787 by the French chemist L. B. G. De Morveau. Equivalent to sulf(ur) + -ate (“salt or ester”).

This word in other languages

sulfato(Español)sulfate(Français)Sulfat(Deutsch)sulfato(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • slufate
  • ssulfate
  • suflate
  • sulafte
  • sulfaet
  • sulfatte
  • sulffate
  • sulftae
  • sullfate
  • uslfate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sulfate - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

slufate2ssulfate1suflate2sulafte2sulfaet2sulfatte1sulffate1sulftae2
Edit distance from "sulfate"

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

How do you spell "sulfate"?
"sulfate" is spelled S-U-L-F-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsʌlfeɪt/.
What does "sulfate" mean?
As a noun, "sulfate" means: Any salt or ester of sulfuric acid.
What words are commonly confused with "sulfate"?
"sulfate" is commonly confused with "surface", "sulfide", "sulphate". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sulfate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sulfate" is /ˈsʌlfeɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sulfate"?
From French sulfate, from New Latin sulphatum, taken from the expression acidum sulphatum (“sulfuric acid”), from sulphatus, from Latin sulphur (“sulfur”). The term was first used in 1787 by the French chemist L. B. G. De Morveau. Equivalent to su... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sulfate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tangent#22,835signage#22,812unravel#22,849shopper#22,809

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

stinks10 variantsscourge10 variantszoology10 variantsaborted10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list