Which to use
“infect” and “infected” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,109
- “infect” frequency rank
- #5,803
- “infected” frequency rank
- 23912
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | infect | infected |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To bring (the body or part of it) into contact with a substance that causes illness (a pathogen), so that the pathogen begins to act on the body; (of a pathogen) to come into contact with (a body or body part) and begin to act on it. | simple past and past participle of infect |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set infect and infected apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
infect and infected are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “infect” sits inside “infected”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23912, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
infect is recorded at frequency rank #18,109, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈfɛkt/. infected is at rank #5,803, tagged as averb.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 23912, this pair ranks #405,855 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of infect vs infected
Shared letters: cefint. Private to "infect": -. Private to "infected": d.
"infect" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "infected" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "infect" and "infected" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "infect" or "infected"?
Remembering infect vs infected
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “infect” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable