Meanings
hyphenate1
present singular third person hyphenates · participle present hyphenating · participle past hyphenated · past hyphenated
- transitiveto break a word at the end of a line according to the hyphenation rules by adding a hyphen on the end of the line.
- transitiveto join words or syllables with a hyphen.
you have to hyphenate his surname as it's double-barrelled
hyphenate2
plural hyphenates
- A person or object with multiple duties, abilities or characteristics, such as "writer-director", "actor-model", or "singer-songwriter".
- A person whose ethnicity is a multi-word hyphenated term, such as "African-American".
We seem to have settled on African-American, and at first glance it certainly does seem logical. […] Not to mention what happens when hyphenates marry other hyphenates and have baby hyphenates.
2006, Nick Adams, Making Friends With Black People, page 15
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
hyphenate · verb
- Proto-Indo-European*upó
- Ancient Greekῠ̔πό (hŭpó)
- Ancient Greekῠ̔πο- (hŭpo-)
- Proto-Indo-European*sem-
- Proto-Indo-European*sḗm
- Proto-Indo-European*séms
- Proto-Hellenic*hens
- Ancient Greekεἷς, μῐ́ᾰ, ἕν (heîs, mĭ́ă, hén)
- Ancient Greekῠ̔φ’ ἕν (hŭph’ hén)
- Ancient Greekῠ̔φέν (hŭphén)
- Late Latinhyphen
- Englishhyphen
- Englishhyphenate
From hyphen + -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Full word history & related roots →hyphenate · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*upó
- Ancient Greekῠ̔πό (hŭpó)
- Ancient Greekῠ̔πο- (hŭpo-)
- Proto-Indo-European*sem-
- Proto-Indo-European*sḗm
- Proto-Indo-European*séms
- Proto-Hellenic*hens
- Ancient Greekεἷς, μῐ́ᾰ, ἕν (heîs, mĭ́ă, hén)
- Ancient Greekῠ̔φ’ ἕν (hŭph’ hén)
- Ancient Greekῠ̔φέν (hŭphén)
- Late Latinhyphen
- Englishhyphen
- Englishhyphenate
From hyphen + -ate (noun-forming suffix).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian пренасям дума
- пренасям дума (prenasjam duma)to break a word at the end of a line according to the hyphenation rules
Finnish tavuttaa
- tavuttaato break a word at the end of a line according to the hyphenation rules
French mettre la césure
- mettre la césureto break a word at the end of a line according to the hyphenation rules
German abteilen, trennen
- abteilento break a word at the end of a line according to the hyphenation rules
- trennento break a word at the end of a line according to the hyphenation rules
Greek συλλαβίζω
- συλλαβίζω (syllavízo)to join words or syllables with a hyphen
Hungarian elválaszt, kötőjelez
- elválasztto break a word at the end of a line according to the hyphenation rules
- kötőjelezto join words or syllables with a hyphen
- kötőjellel írto join words or syllables with a hyphen
Portuguese hifenizar, hifenar
- hifenizarto break a word at the end of a line according to the hyphenation rules
- hifenarto break a word at the end of a line according to the hyphenation rules
- translinearto break a word at the end of a line according to the hyphenation rules
- hifenizarto join words or syllables with a hyphen
- hifenarto join words or syllables with a hyphen
Spanish guionizar, guionar
- guionizarto break a word at the end of a line according to the hyphenation rules
- guionarto break a word at the end of a line according to the hyphenation rules
Swedish avstava
- avstavato break a word at the end of a line according to the hyphenation rules
Cite this entry
hyphenate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyphenate
“hyphenate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyphenate. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hyphenate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyphenate.
Source: hyphenate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.