confection
/kənˈfɛkʃən/noun, verb
confection is spelled C-O-N-F-E-C-T-I-O-N: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 54,192nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, confection means “A food item prepared very sweet, frequently decorated in fine detail, and often preserved with sugar, such as a candy, sweetmeat, fruit preserve…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of confection is confections.
How many letters and syllables are in confection?
| Letters | 10: C-O-N-F-E-C-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 54,192nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is confection?
Confection appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 54,192nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce confection?
- /kənˈfɛkʃən/
Confection has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-confection.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of confection
- confections plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- confectioning participle, present
- confectioned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does confection mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A food item prepared very sweet, frequently decorated in fine detail, and often preserved with sugar, such as a candy, sweetmeat, fruit preserve, pastry, or cake.
The table was covered with all sorts of tempting confections.
- 2
The act or process of confecting; the process of making, compounding, or preparing something.
- 3
The result of such a process; something made up or confected; a concoction.
The defense attorney maintained that the charges were a confection of the local police.
- 4
datedAn artistic, musical, or literary work taken as frivolous, amusing, or contrived; a composition of a light nature.
- 5
datedSomething, such as a garment or a decoration, that is very elaborate, delicate, or luxurious, usually also impractical or non-utilitarian.
Her gown was a marvelous confection of lace and tulle.
- 6
obsoleteA medicinal preparation of any kind, a compound of drugs.
- 7
obsoleteA deadly poison.
verb
- 1
To make into a confection, prepare as a confection.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Confection in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense food item:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sucrerie, confiserie, friandise, pâtisserie, bonbon |
| German | Konfekt, Bonbon |
| Portuguese | confeito |
| Spanish | golosina, dulce, confite |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does confection come from?
From Middle English confescioun, borrowed from Old French confeccion (French confection), borrowed from Latin cōnfectiōnem, from cōnfectus, past participle of cōnficiō (“prepare”), from con- (“with”) + faciō (“to make, do”). By surface analysis, confect + -ion. Originally "the making by means of ingredients"; sense of "candy or light pastry" predominant since 1500s.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).