vitiate
/ˈvɪʃ.i.eɪt/verb
vitiate is spelled V-I-T-I-A-T-E: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 125,655th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, vitiate means “To spoil, make faulty; to reduce the value, quality, or effectiveness of something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in vitiate?
| Letters | 7: V-I-T-I-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 17 million words; the 125,655th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is vitiate?
Vitiate appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 125,655th 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 vitiate?
- US /ˈvɪʃ.i.eɪt/
Vitiate 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-vitiate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of vitiate
- vitiates present, singular, he/she/it
- vitiating participle, present
- vitiated participle, past
- viciate
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does vitiate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To spoil, make faulty; to reduce the value, quality, or effectiveness of something.
- 2
To debase or morally corrupt.
- 3
archaicTo violate, to rape.
- 4
To make something ineffective, to invalidate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Vitiate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | beschädigen , verderben |
| Portuguese | viciar |
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 vitiate come from?
From Latin vitiātus, the perfect passive participle of vitiō (“damage, spoil”), from vitium (“vice”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).