verb

conjugate

KON-juh-gayt (verb), KON-juh-guht (adjective, noun)

Conjugate (verb) means to give the different forms of a verb according to person, number, tense, mood and voice. Example: “Spanish learners spend weeks conjugating irregular verbs.”

verb

grammar To give the different forms of a verb according to person, number, tense, mood and voice.

"Spanish learners spend weeks conjugating irregular verbs."

"Can you conjugate "to be" in the past tense?"

Of a verb, to have those different forms.

""Go" conjugates irregularly in the past tense."

adjective

technical Joined together, especially as a pair with a shared relationship. Used in mathematics of numbers or expressions that differ only in the sign of one part, and in chemistry of a joined compound.

"The conjugate of 3 + 2i is 3 − 2i."

"Researchers attached the drug to an antibody to form a conjugate molecule."

How to Use Conjugate

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo change a verb's form to fit who is doing it and when.

When to use it

The grammar sense is everyday in language teaching; the mathematical and chemical senses are technical.

Memory tip

Note the stress shift: the verb ends in a full "-gate" sound, the adjective and noun in a weaker "-gut".

Trace the full origin ↓

Easily confused with

decline → inflect conjugal →

Common pairings

conjugate a verb conjugated in the present tense complex conjugate conjugate acid

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

Can you _____ "to be" in the past tense?

Etymology

From Latin conjugatus, past participle of conjugare "to yoke together", from com- "together" and jugum "yoke".

Origin: Latin

Rhymes for conjugate

ate date rate mate fate abate slate plate state grate create update

See all rhymes for conjugate →

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean to conjugate a verb?

It means listing or producing the verb's forms as they change with the subject and the tense: I go, he goes, they went. In heavily inflected languages such as Spanish, Italian or Latin, each tense has a distinct ending for every person, so conjugation is a long list; English verbs change far less.

What is the difference between conjugation and declension?

Conjugation is the set of forms a verb takes. Declension is the set of forms a noun, pronoun or adjective takes for case, number and gender. Verbs conjugate, nouns decline.

What is a conjugate in maths?

Most often the complex conjugate, formed by changing the sign of the imaginary part: the conjugate of a + bi is a − bi. The same idea applies to surds, where the conjugate of 2 + √5 is 2 − √5, a trick used to clear roots from a denominator.