formicate

F4O1R1M3I1C3A1T1E1
/ˈfɔː(ɹ)mɪkeɪt//ˈfɔː(ɹ)mɪkət//fɔː(ɹ)ˈmaɪkət/

verb

To move like ants.

OriginLatin formīca ← Proto-Italic *mormīkā ← Proto-Indo-European *morwís →
Scrabble 16
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

formicate1

verbformicate (third-person singular simple present formicates, present participle formicating, simple past and past participle formicated)

present singular third person formicates · participle present formicating · participle past formicated · past formicated

  1. To move like ants.

    an open space which formicated with peasantry

    1853–1864, James Russell Lowell, “(please specify the page)”, in Fireside Travels, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, published 1864, →OCLC
  2. To have a sensation like the movement of ants.

formicate2

adjectiveformicate (comparative more formicate, superlative most formicate)

comparative more formicate · superlative most formicate

  1. ant-like

Origin

formicate · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*morwís
  2. Proto-Italic*mormīkā
  3. Latinformīca
  4. Englishformicate

From Latin formīca (“ant”) + English -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Full word history & related roots →

formicate · adjective

  1. Proto-Indo-European*morwís
  2. Proto-Italic*mormīkā
  3. Latinformīca
  4. Englishformicate

From Latin formīca (“ant”) + English -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

formicate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/formicate

MLA

“formicate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/formicate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “formicate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/formicate.

Source: formicate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.