indication
/ɪndɪˈkeɪʃən/
"indication" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“indication” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,482 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #6,482
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An act of pointing out or indicating.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | indication |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɪndɪˈkeɪʃən/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #6,482 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “indication” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for indication is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪndɪˈkeɪʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,482 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for indication, with forms such as "idnication", "indciation", and "inddication". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "indicator", "induction", "invitation", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French indication, from Latin indicātiō (“a showing, indicating the value of something; valuation”), from indicō (“point out, indicate, show; value”); see indicate; compare French indication, Spanish indicación, Italian indicazione. By surface anal… The correct English form is indication, spelled I-N-D-I-C-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1An act of pointing out or indicating.
- 2A fact that shows that something exists or may happen.
- 3A mark or another symbol used to represent something.
- 4A discovery made; information.
- 5An explanation; a display.
- 6Any symptom or occurrence in a disease that serves to direct to suitable remedies; the problem that warrants and prompts the use of a diagnostic test, imaging mode, or treatment (e.g., medication, surgical procedure).
- 7A declared approximation of the price at which a traded security is likely to commence trading.
Etymology
From Old French indication, from Latin indicātiō (“a showing, indicating the value of something; valuation”), from indicō (“point out, indicate, show; value”); see indicate; compare French indication, Spanish indicación, Italian indicazione. By surface analysis, indicate + -ion.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: idnication,indciation,inddication,indiaction,indicaiton,indicasion,indicatino,indicationn,indicatoin,indicattion,indiccation,indictaion,inidcation,inndication,nidication
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of indication - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “indication”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-D-I-C-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪndɪˈkeɪʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “indicator” - see the side-by-side comparison. indication vs indicator
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.