Word.ws English Dictionary

formicate

/ˈfɔː(ɹ)mɪkeɪt/

formicate verb: to move like ants.

Verb

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

  1. To move like ants.
    • an open space which formicated with peasantry1853–1864, 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.

Adjective

IPA/ˈfɔː(ɹ)mɪkət/

formicate (comparative more formicate, superlative most formicate)

  1. ant-like

Forms of formicate

Verb
third-person singular presentformicates
present participleformicating
past participleformicated
pastformicated
Adjective
comparativemore formicate
superlativemost formicate

Origin of formicate

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

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

Questions about formicate

What does formicate mean?
Formicate means to move like ants.
What part of speech is formicate?
Formicate can be a verb or an adjective.
How do you pronounce formicate?
Formicate is pronounced /ˈfɔː(ɹ)mɪkeɪt/.
What is the past tense of formicate?
The past tense of formicate is formicated.

Words near formicate in the dictionary

  1. formicarium
  2. formicariums
  3. formicaroid
  4. formicary
  5. formicas
  6. formicate
  7. formicated
  8. formicates
  9. formicating
  10. formication
  11. formications

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: formicate (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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