Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

investigate

[ɪnˈvɛs.tɪ.ɡeɪ̯t]

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.31 in modern English

Syllables: in-ves-ti-gate
IPA: [ɪnˈvɛs.tɪ.ɡeɪ̯t]

15

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To inquire into or study in order to ascertain facts or information.

Transitive verb

verb

To examine, look into, or scrutinize in order to discover something hidden or secret.

Transitive verb

verb

To conduct an inquiry or examination.

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

"to investigate the causes of natural phenomena"
"He was asked to investigate a robbery."
"We investigated the presence of CNM in ornithophagous ticks from migrating birds."
"The current study investigates autoantibodies against steroid synthesis enzymes in dogs with spontaneous hypoadrenocorticism."
"ESP, using the tools of corpus linguistics, has advanced the methodologies for investigating discipline-specific language, yet there has been little cross-fertilization so far with disciplinary literacy in secondary education."
"to investigate an unsolved murder"

Etymology

Recorded since circa 1510, a back-formation from investigation on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix), from Latin investīgātiō (“a searching into”), from investīgātus, the perfect passive participle of investīgō, equivalent to in- + vestigate. Displaced native Old English undersēċan (literally “to search under or between”).

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: investīgātiō

Regional Pronunciation

American English: [ɪnˈvɛs.tɪ.ɡeɪ̯t]

Usage

Inflected Forms

investigates (present, singular) investigating (participle, present) investigated (participle, past) investigated (past)

Derived Forms

coinvestigate investigatable investigatingly noninvestigated reinvestigate transvestigate underinvestigated uninvestigated uninvestigating

Frequently Paired Words

investigability investigable investigation investigational investigative investigator investigatory

Synonyms

underseek inquire enquire look into

Questions

How do you pronounce investigate?: The recorded pronunciation is [ɪnˈvɛs.tɪ.ɡeɪ̯t].
What does investigate mean?: To inquire into or study in order to ascertain facts or information.
Where does investigate come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce investigate

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