infant

/ˈɪn.fənt/

//ˈɪn.fənt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"infant" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“infant” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,236. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,236
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
14
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A very young human being, from birth to somewhere between six months and two years of age after birth, needing almost constant care and attention.

Corpus desk

Index EN-infant · infant · English

infant · rank #7,236 · 9 variants · 14 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,236
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 14 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH inappropriate

Nearest frequency peer: inappropriate (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “infant”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “infant” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

infant vs Inman
50% similar
infant vs Irfan
50% similar
infant vs insane
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for infant
PropertyValue
Headwordinfant
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɪn.fənt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,236
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs14
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “infant” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). infant lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around infant (IPA /ˈɪn.fənt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,236 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for infant, with forms such as "ifnant", "inafnt", and "infannt". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "Inman", "Irfan", "insane", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English infaunt, borrowed from Latin īnfantem, accusative masculine singular of īnfāns, nominal use of the adjective meaning 'not able to speak', from īn- (“not”) + fāns, present participle of for (“to speak”). The verb is from Anglo-N… The correct English form is infant, spelled I-N-F-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A very young human being, from birth to somewhere between six months and two years of age after birth, needing almost constant care and attention.
  2. 2
    A minor.
  3. 3
    A student in an infant school or the first part of a primary school.
  4. 4
    A noble or aristocratic youth.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how infant appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Thomas Humphrey Doleman died the 30th of August 1712, an infant, intestate and without issue; Lewis the next nephew died the 17th of April 1716, an infant about sixteen years old, having left his mother Mary Webb, ...
  2. Retourned home, the royall Infant fell / Into her former fitt [...].

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English infaunt, borrowed from Latin īnfantem, accusative masculine singular of īnfāns, nominal use of the adjective meaning 'not able to speak', from īn- (“not”) + fāns, present participle of for (“to speak”). The verb is from Anglo-Norman enfanter, from the same Latin source. Doublet of infante.

This word in other languages

nene(Español)nourrisson(Français)Säugling(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ifnant
  • inafnt
  • infannt
  • infantt
  • infatn
  • inffant
  • infnat
  • innfant
  • nifant

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of infant - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ifnant2inafnt2infannt1infantt1infatn2inffant1infnat2innfant1
Edit distance from "infant"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "infant"?
"infant" is spelled I-N-F-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɪn.fənt/.
What does "infant" mean?
As a noun, "infant" means: A very young human being, from birth to somewhere between six months and two years of age after birth, needing almost constant care and attention.
What words are commonly confused with "infant"?
"infant" is commonly confused with "Inman", "Irfan", "insane". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "infant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "infant" is /ˈɪn.fənt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "infant"?
Inherited from Middle English infaunt, borrowed from Latin īnfantem, accusative masculine singular of īnfāns, nominal use of the adjective meaning 'not able to speak', from īn- (“not”) + fāns, present participle of for (“to speak”). The verb is fr... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "infant", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

guides#7,233insult#7,240Julian#7,243fossil#7,228

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

goddamn9 variantsliking9 variantsdigging9 variantsdancer9 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "infant". Here's where to go from here.

  • "infant" maps to 14 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Inman". View pair
  • 9 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #7,236 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "I" letter cohort. I–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list