constellate

American  

[kon-stuh-leyt] / ˈkɒn stəˌleɪt /

verb (used with or without object)

constellated, constellating

1. to cluster together, as stars in a constellation.

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constellate British  

/ ˈkɒnstɪˌleɪt /

verb

1. to form into clusters in or as if in constellations

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Other Word Forms

• unconstellated adjective

Etymology

Origin of constellate

1615–25; < Late Latin constellātus star-studded, equivalent to Latin con- con- + stell ( a ) star + -ātus -ate ¹

Explanation

To constellate is to gather or cluster together. You might notice that the guests at your party tend to constellate around the snacks. Constellate is a lovely, literary way to describe anything or anyone forming a cluster. This verb comes from the noun constellation and its Latin roots con-, "together," and stella, "star." Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, and five other bright stars constellate in Orion, the constellation also known as the Hunter. And if you bring your adorable puppy to school, all the dog lovers are definitely going to constellate around you!

Example Sentences

These characters, mostly renamed with English soundalikes, constellate pretty much as the original 10 did.

From New York Times • Feb. 28, 2023

It felt like if I was going to watch my mother constellate, it would be like I was missing one of the stars.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 23, 2022

But she had no sense of the true history in which she was now embedded, or the strength of the forces she would constellate.

From The Guardian • Aug. 26, 2017

The choice to constellate certain kinds of rituals, stories, propositions and epistemological modes into a single package called “religion” is a fairly recent, European, and Protestant phenomenon.

From Salon • Dec. 13, 2015

The tormentilla gleams in showers along the mountain turf; her delicate crosslets are separate, though constellate, as the rubied daisy.

From Proserpina, Volume 1 Studies Of Wayside Flowers by Ruskin, John